


Isn't Time Weird?

by freedom_flying_and_fandoms



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: AvaLance, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Family Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Parents Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe, Quarantine Got Me Fanfictioning, Soulmates, Trying my hand at writing romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:34:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 50,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23499103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freedom_flying_and_fandoms/pseuds/freedom_flying_and_fandoms
Summary: Sara and Ava are happily married and have one daughter. Then one-night, Nora arrives on the Waverider with two little girls in need of a home.Couple of things to note…TW for descriptions of past abuse.E-1 Laurel is alive because I miss her.This fic uses Zari 1.0 instead of Zari 2.0.Nora and Ray never leave the Legends because they deserve to be happy AND travel through time together.Flashbacks are in Italics.Lastly, I realized too late that the names Ava and Ada are super close, so I apologize for that.
Relationships: Ava Sharpe & Original Child Character(s), Laurel Lance & Quentin Lance & Sara Lance, Laurel Lance & Sara Lance, Sara Lance & Original Child Character(s), Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Comments: 93
Kudos: 243





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I should be studying for classes, but I'm here instead; Procrastination at its finest.  
> I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

Sara and Ava walked down the steps of their home to see their eight-year-old daughter Eadlyn sitting at the kitchen table working on her math homework. As they approached, the young girl turned around.

“Can you help me with my multiplication homework? I don’t get it,” She asked, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion.

“Absolutely, but we need to talk to you about something first,” Ava responded as she and Sara took the two seats across from her at the table. Then Ava continued, “you know that Maeve and Ada have been staying with us for a while, and we wanted to talk to you about how you would feel if we adopted them. If you are okay with this, we are going to ask them tonight after dinner.”

“We just wanted you to know that we value your opinion and wanted to see what your thoughts were,” Sara explained.

Eadlyn immediately asked, “So if you adopt them, they would be able to live with us forever?”  
  


Both Sara and Ava nodded, and a huge smile crossed Eadlyn’s face.

“So that’s a yes?” Sara confirmed.

“Yes!” Eadlyn replied a smile still prominent on her face as she ran around the table to give her mother’s a hug.

Sara and Ava both hugged her back and whispered in her ear, “We love you Eady.”

***

_One month ago, Sara and Ava were watching a movie in the galley on the Waverider. It was the end of August and summer vacation was coming to an end. Eadlyn had insisted they spend the day with the Legends before school started and they got busy. It was late and Eadlyn had fallen asleep in Sara’s room when Nora arrived. She was dressed in her fairy godmother outfit and had two little girls in tow._

_Ava paused the movie and looked over at Nora, “What’s going on?”_

_“Well, I am currently a fairy godmother for these two girls and she wished” Nora said gesturing towards the youngest girl, “for her and her sister to be removed from her home, but now they have nowhere to go.”_

_“Okay but why?” Sara asked._

_Nora just looked down at the young girls and then back to Sara nodding her head as if to say it was not a good topic of conversation._

_Ava looked closely at the young girls and realized how distressed they both looked. The youngest was sniffling and a bruise was starting to form across her cheek. The oldest girl had quiet tears dripping from her eyes, was holding her wrist with her hand and had a stuffed bunny in the crook of her elbow. Both were visibly shaking with fear._

_Ava crouched down in front of the two girls. “My name is Ava, and this is Sara; can you tell me your names?”_

_“Ada” the youngest whispered and hugged a small stuffed cat to her chest._

_Ava smiled at the young girl, “That’s such a pretty name.” The older girl on the other hand, started to back up and was clearly scared. “you’re going to be okay,” Ava softly spoke while looking back and forth between both girls. “No one is going to hurt you.”_

_“Ava’s right,” Sara started, also crouching down in front of the girls, “no one here is going to hurt you. Can you tell me your name?”_

_The older girl still didn’t answer. Ada turned around to look at her sister and when she realized she wasn’t going to say anything, she looked back at Ava and responded, “It’s Maeve.”_

_Sara was quickly trying to think of a way to try and calm both of the down and decided on, “How about we get you both into some nice warm pajamas, and we can get you some food. Are you hungry?” Sara asked._

_Ada nodded her head in response, although Maeve had back up so far, she was leaning against the wall. Nora went to the fabricator so Gideon could make some pajamas for the girls. In the meantime, Sara and Ava sat on the ground in front of the girls and tried to get them to be more comfortable around them._

_“You know,” Ava started, “Sara and I have a daughter a little older than the two of you. Her name is Eadlyn.”_

_“She is eight- years- old,” Sara continued, “and she loves to read and color.”_

_“She also just started playing softball and her favorite position is third base,” Ava added in._

_Both Sara and Ava continued to talk about their daughter with the hopes of distracting the girls from what had to be a horrible and utterly confusing situation. They talked softly and calmly with the hopes of making them feel more comfortable around them. It seemed to work because Ada was staring intently at them, taking in every word, and after a while, a smile started to form on her face, and she crawled into Ava’s lap. Even Maeve took a few steps towards them and had stopped shaking._

_When Sara and Ava looked up from the girls, they realized both Ray and Nora were standing in the doorway holding two sets of pajamas._

_“How about we get you both changed?” Sara suggested while she stood up and walked over to take the pajamas from them._

_When Ava started to stand up, Ada actually put her arms up as a request to be carried. When they reached the bathroom so Maeve and Ada could change, Sara turned on the bathroom lights and went to hand the pajamas to Maeve when she realized she was still holding her wrist._

_“Hi sweetie,” Sara softly spoke as she bent over eye level to Maeve, “Does your wrist hurt?”_

_Maeve nodded in response clearly trying her best to hold back tears._

_“How about we go make your wrist feel better. Is it okay if I bring you with me to go meet Gideon? She is really nice, and she can make you feel better?”_

_Maeve’s eyes immediately went wide, and she turned to her sister. When she looked back at Sara, she shook her head._

_“How about all four of us go?” Sara suggested. Maeve nodded her head yes and to Sara’s surprise, grabbed ahold of her hand._

_Sara and Maeve walked hand in hand to the med bay, Ava close behind still carrying Ada. When they entered the room, they stopped in between the two chairs._

_“Is it okay if I help you onto the chair?” Sara questioned looking at Maeve._

_Maeve nodded her head in agreement again, but she also pointed to her sister as if to suggest she should sit in the other chair. Sara helped Maeve up into the chair and she refused to let go of Sara’s hand. The Same occurred with Ava and Ada. They put the bracelets on their wrist and Gideon immediately started a scan._

_“Captain, it appears that Maeve has a broken wrist as well as a few broken ribs and Ada has a bruised cheek and a broken nose. I will start to heal them at once.”_

_“Okay, you’re going to take a quick nap and when you wake up, you’re going to feel a lot better,” Sara reassured them. Before the worry could set in, Gideon administered a sedative and the girls immediately started to fall asleep leaving Gideon to do her work._

_While the girls were asleep Ava looked over at Sara, “You know, I don’t think Maeve was afraid to come to the med bay alone with you, I think she knew Ada was also injured and needed help as well.”_

_“I just can’t stop thinking about the fact that they were both sitting here hurt and neither one of them told us. What they must have gone through that they didn’t think to say anything. We need to find them a loving home,” Sara said trying to keep tears out of her eyes and Ava nodded in response._

_They sat in silence until Gideon confirmed that they were healed and about to start waking up. Both girls started to stir and were still a little groggy when they opened their eyes and looked around slightly panicked._

_“It’s okay,” Ava said looking at both of them, “You’re with Ava and Sara, you’re going to be okay. How about we get you both in pajamas now and you can go to sleep for the night. You must be tired.”_

_The four of them walked back over to where they left the pajamas and finished what they had started earlier. Maeve went into the bathroom to change and Ada looked up at Ava._

_“Can you help me?” Ada queried looking up at Ava with her almost golden colored eyes._

_“Of course,” Ava responded with a smile, and after Maeve exited the bathroom, Ava followed Ada in so she could help her change._

_Once Ava and Ada exited the bathroom, Sara looked at Ava, “They’re going to have to stay in my room because all the other rooms are being used."_

_Ava nodded in response and started to head towards Sara’s room. They quietly entered, careful not to wake Eady, and turned to look at Maeve and Ada._

_“Okay, you’re going to stay in here tonight,” Sara whispered._

_“We can tuck you in and we’re going to stay until you fall asleep. And if you need anything, you can always come find us,” Ava added._

_They both helped the girls into the bed, and then sat on the edge of the bed. Ava instantly started running her fingers through Ada’s dirty blond hair to keep her calm and Sara was still holding Maeve’s hand. The girls, being plagued with tiredness after a long day, quickly drifted off to sleep._

_***_

_After they were sure the girls were asleep, Sara and Ava walked back out to the Bridge and found Nora and Ray._

_“So, they were being abused and wanted to leave?” Sara questioned._

_Nora nodded her head in conformation. “The problem is my magic only works but granting what they ask. Because they asked to leave their parents and didn’t request to go anywhere, they have nowhere to stay.”_

_“So, in this situation you’re basically like a genie who grants wishes and they never go the way they are supposed to?” Ava joined in._

_“Sadly, yes. Helping these girls has not been going as well as I hoped. They were, and still are, in a bad situation and they deserve better.”_

_“I know you are doing everything you can to help these girls though and we are going to find them a good home,” Ray responded, while holding Nora’s hand._

_“What about us?” Ava questioned, turning to Sara._

_“What do you mean?”_

_“What if we foster and adopt them?” Ava clarified._

_“Ava, I don’t think a judge, or anyone in social services, is going to let us foster or adopt these kids. I’ve been legally dead more than once and you’re a clone from the future.”_

_“If one of them wishes that we were fostering them, Nora would have to grant it, and none of that would matter.”_

_“Could that work?” Sara asked Nora, trying not to get her hopes up too quickly._

_“It could, but the wish would have to come from one of them.”_

_Ava pulled Sara into a hug and whispered into her ear, “I think we should try this. I know we haven’t talked about having more kids recently, but I really want to adopt them.”_

_Sara smiled into Ava’s ear and whispered back, “Me to.”_

_They pulled apart and Sara looked at the time, “We should probably go to my room in case Eady wakes up and is confused as to why there are two other girls in the room with her. Or if Maeve and Ada wake up and need help.”_

_They quietly entered Sara’s room and realized, with all three girls in her bed, they had nowhere to sleep. Ava gestured to the reclining chair and Sara nodded. Sara grabbed a blanket from the corner of the room and bundled both herself and Ava in it as they curled up in the chair._

_After a few hours, Sara, still acutely aware of her surroundings from her time as an assassin, woke when she heard a faint sniffling from the other side of the room. she started to open her eyes, blinked a few times to adjust to the darkness and looked towards the bed. She saw Maeve, still laying down, but she was clearly awake and hugging her sister who was quietly sobbing. Sara got up and silently walked towards the bed, crouching in front of the crying girl._

_When Maeve saw Sara her eyes immediately widened in fear. “I promise she will go back to sleep. I’m sorry we woke you. Please don’t hurt us,” she whispered as she hugged her sister closer._

_“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” Sara reassured, but her heart broke for the pair of sisters. “You know, when I have a bad dream, a hug always makes me feel better, would you like a hug?” Both Sara and Maeve looked down at Ada who quietly sat up and put her arms around Sara’s neck and rested her head on her shoulder._

_When they finally pulled apart, Ada laid back down and looked at Sara with a slight smile peaking out behind the stuffed cat she had cuddled to her face. Sara immediately started running her fingers through the little girl’s hair._

_“I’m going to stay here until you fall asleep,” Sara whispered._

_After a few moments, both Maeve and Ada fell asleep and Sara crawled back into the recliner with Ava. With her head resting on Ava’s shoulder and the blanket pulled up to her neck, she eventually drifted off to sleep._

_***_

_The next morning Eadlyn was the first to wake up. She rolled over still half asleep, and all but jumped out of bed with surprise when she realized there were two girls asleep next to her. Sara, who had curled back in the recliner chair with Ava, heard Eady jump and immediately woke. Sara sat up, careful not to wake Ava, and put her finger to her mouth as an indication for Eady to be quiet, and then gestured for Eadlyn to walk out of the room with her._

_Once they had left the room, Sara led Eadlyn to the kitchen and had Gideon fabricate both of them some breakfast._

_Eadlyn was the first to break the silence, “Mama, who are those girls?”_

_“Well,” Sara responded as she walked back to the table carrying plates of food and a cup of coffee for herself, “Their names are Maeve and Ada. They don’t have anywhere to stay so Mom and I were hoping that they would be able to stay with us for a while.”_

_“But, why don’t they have anywhere to go?”_

_“Umm, well, they can’t stay in the home they are in now.”_

_“Why not?”_

_“It’s a long and complicated story baby. How about you finish your breakfast and then Mom and I will introduce you.”_

_“So, they will be like my sisters?” Eadlyn asked while playing with her silverware._

_“Yes, if you want them to be.”_

_“Yay,” Eadlyn responded with a smile before she started to finish eating._

_***_

Later that evening, the crisp fall wind was howling while Ava finished cooking dinner and called everyone down to the table to eat. As all five of them sat around the dinner table Ava and Sara looked at each other and then put their silverware down.

When the girls realized that Sara and Ava had stopped eating and were looking at them, they both stopped eating and stared back with slightly concerned and tense looks on their faces.

“We have something to ask you both, it’s not anything bad we promise,” Sara started, and the girls started to relax, and a smile crept onto Eadlyn’s face as she knew what was about to happen.

“We know you haven’t been staying with us for that long, but we were wondering if you would like for us to be your mom’s and for Eadlyn to be your sister,” Ava finished.

“You mean you want to adopt us?” Ada questioned.

“Yes,” Both Sara and Ava answered with a smile that they couldn’t keep off their faces.

Maeve, who still didn’t talk very much, turned to look at Ada and saw just how excited she was by this proposition. A smile crept onto Maeve’s face and they both looked back at Sara and Ava, nodding their head yes.

Sara, Ava and Eadlyn jumped out of their seats, Eadlyn so quickly the chair actually fell over, and rushed over to hug the young girls. As all five of them embraced, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is the adoption day here? Yes, yes it is! The Legends are here, as well as Laurel, Quentin and Dinah Lance. And of course, you can't forget, Sara, Ava, and the crew of children.

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

The morning after Maeve and Ada confirmed they wanted to be adopted, Sara called Laurel, Quentin and Dinah to come over, saying they had great news. About an hour later they all showed up. Eadlyn opened the door when they knocked and jumped into Quentin’s arms causing him to stumble backwards, but he kept his hold on the girl.

“Hi Eady! How’ve you been?”

“Good!” She excitedly replied.

Quentin, still carrying Eadlyn, Laurel, and Dinah walked into the house and spotted the rest of the family, in the kitchen cooking breakfast, and all three kids were still in pajamas. Ava was taking waffles out of the waffle maker and had a bowl of cut up fresh fruit next to her, Sara was cooking bacon and eggs on the stove, Maeve was getting waffle toppings out of the refrigerator and Ada was sitting in one of the barstools at the kitchen island watching Ava carefully, clearly very excited about waffles. Once Quentin, Eadlyn, Laurel, and Dinah entered the kitchen, Quentin put Eadlyn down and she walked over to the half set kitchen table to finish laying down the plates, napkins, and silverware.

“Hey what’s going on?” Quentin asked going in for a hug from his youngest daughter as she finished putting the last slices of bacon on a plate.

“We have some great news!” Sara responded excitedly as she reached over to hug her sister.

“Really?” Laurel responded as she let go of her sister who went to hug their mother. Then they all walked over to the table where Ava had just finished placing the waffles, bacon, eggs, and fruit.

“Yep!” Eadlyn responded as she ran to jump into her seat at the table ready for breakfast.

Sara, looked over and nodded at Ava, who by this time was sitting in a chair at the table with Ada in her lap, the place she had grown to feel safest and most comfortable over the past few weeks, her hair, still messy from sleeping, was snuggled into Ava’s neck. They both looked at the little girl in Ava’s lap and Ava leaned down to whispered in her ear, “Do you wanna tell them?”

Ada nodded and looked up smiling at the people, who would soon, become her aunt and grandparents, “Sara and Ava are gonna adopt us.”

There was a chorus of excited “Seriously?!?” and “Really?!?” coming from Laurel, Quentin, and Dinah as Ava and Sara were excitedly smiling back at them. Laurel, who had started crying tears of joy, turned to hug her sister again and quietly spoke in her ear, “I’m so happy for you Sara.” Then Laurel walked over and sat in the chair next to Ava and Ada so she could congratulate both of them, while Quentin leaned in to hug his youngest daughter and said, “I’m really proud of you” before letting go of his daughter. 

Maeve, unsure of what to do, walked over to Sara and grabbed her hand while standing warily behind her. Even though Maeve was mostly comfortable around, Sara, Ava, and Eadlyn at this point, she didn’t talk very much and was still guarded around people she didn’t know well, this included Sara’s family who she had only met a handful of times in the past month. Sara tried to ease Maeve’s nerves by squatting down to look at her and started to gently rub her shoulders. “How about we eat some breakfast,” Sara suggested. Maeve nodded and they headed to the table where she quietly sat down next to Ava and waited for everyone else to sit before eating.

After Maeve sat down, Sara put her hands on the seat next to her and she turned to face her parents and sister who were still standing, “Please, sit down, we made breakfast for everybody.”

Once everyone was at the table and had started eating, Dinah spoke up. “When is the adoption going to be finalized?”

“We are going to the Waverider to meet Nora and the rest of the Legends this afternoon and we’re hoping you would all join us,” Sara answered.

“Why the Waverider?” Dinah questioned.

“Well, with my complicated history after the Gambit went down and Ava’s history, or I guess future, we weren’t sure how a judge would take all of this, but Nora is the girl’s Fairy Godmother, so if they wish that we are legally their parents, it would come true and we won’t have to worry about what a judge would think.” Sara responded.

“We really want both of them to legally be a part of this family and this way is not only the quickest but will also be the most effective. We love Maeve and Ada we really want them to be able to stay with us,” Ava added.

Dinah and Quentin beamed at Sara and Ava while Laurel spoke up, “Of course we will be there to see the adoption finalized. We wouldn’t miss this for the world!”

***

That afternoon, all five of them, plus Laurel, Quentin and Dinah, went to the Waverider to find Nora and the rest of the Legends. They found the Legends on the bridge and they all turned and waved to the family, keeping their distance knowing Maeve and Ada were still getting used to all of them. Eadlyn however, ran over to them and immediately high fived everyone.

“How’s it goin’ little Lance?” Nate asked when he hi fived Eadlyn.

“Awesome!” Eadlyn smiled, “Maeve and Ada are staying with us forever!”

“I heard!”

Sara called everyone over and she and Ava greeted the team and instructed Gideon to video the adoption so they could keep it. Then the legends, Laurel, Quentin, and Dinah took a step back to watch while Nora stood in front of Maeve and Ada. Sara and Ava stood behind Maeve and Ada with their arms around each other and they each had a hand on Eadlyn’s shoulder. Nora squatted down so that she could look at Maeve and Ada and waited for them to make their wish.

“Fairy Godmother,” Ada started, “I wish that Sara and Ava would adopt us.”

With a wave of her wand, blue sparkles filled the room and Nora was able to grant their wish. Birth certificates appeared in Nora’s hands for the two girls, that had Ava and Sara listed as their parents which meant the wish had worked. What they weren’t expecting when Nora granted the wish, was for her to be released as Maeve and Ada’s Fairy Godmother, as the girl’s deepest need had been granted.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, including Mick, John, and Charlie, and everyone smiled, happy for the family. Sara and Ava squatted down to talk to the Maeve and Ada, but before they could say anything, Ada immediately jumped into Ava’s arms and wrapped her arms around her neck and her legs around her waist. Then Ava also grabbed onto Eadlyn and started hugging her with her free arm. Sara, still bent down at Maeve’s eye level, smiled and quietly asked, “Is it okay if I hug you?”

Maeve nodded her head in response and wrapped her arms around Sara’s neck and rested her head on her shoulder, soaking Sara’s shirt with her tears. Sara wrapped her arms around her daughter and slowly lifted her and rocked back and forth while holding her close. Sara slightly turned her head and whispered into Maeve’s ear, “I love you so much.”

After a few moments of hugging, Sara walked towards Ava, who was still hugging Eadlyn and holding Ada. Sara shifted Maeve to hold her with one arm and wrapped her other arm around Ava, turned her head, and placed a chaste kiss on Ava’s lips. Ava finally let go of Eadlyn, Sara and Maeve, and while still carrying Ada, walked towards the Legends, and Sara’s family. Laurel was the first to congratulate Ada and welcome her to the family.

Ada looked down shyly and quietly whispered, “Thank you,” and, to everyone’s surprise, hugged her aunt. 

Sara then leaned in to hug her sister, mother, and father but, did so with an awkward one-armed hug because she was still holding Maeve. Finally, the Legends walked towards them and congratulated all the members of the family.

“Congratulations Captain and Mrs. Captain,” Nate said as he walked towards everyone.

“I am happy for you both,” Zari said as she leaned in for a hug from Eadlyn.

The rest of the Legends wished the family the best and after a while, Ava spoke up, “We are going to go celebrate, but we will be back to see all of you later.”

With that, Ava used her time currier to bring her family (including Laurel, Quentin, and Dinah) back to their house.

***

Once they got back, the family of five, plus Laurel, Quentin, and Dinah drove to the Olive Garden for dinner per the request of Maeve and Ada who got excited when they heard Eadlyn talking about their endless breadsticks a few days before.

The eight of them got a table and talked during the dinner. After they finished their meals, Sara spoke up, “We have a surprise for Maeve and Ada.”

As if on cue, the wait staff walked out carrying a cake that had, “Welcome to the Family Maeve and Ada” written in frosting.

“You got us a cake?” Ada asked surprised.

“Yep, it says, ‘welcome to the family Maeve and Ada’,” Ava replied.

“We are so happy that we get to be your parents,” Sara said looking back and forth between all three of her children.

“We also heard that Maeve’s favorite cake was lemon with vanilla frosting and Ada’s was red velvet with cream cheese frosting, so the cake is half and half,” Ava added

Both Maeve and Ada looked up at Ava stunned and then started crying as Ada spoke, “You remembered our favorite cakes?”

“Of course, we did. We love you both so much and wanted to make today special,” Sara replied

“No one’s ever remembered our favorite cake’s before,” Ada continued.

This time Ava spoke in a soft and reassuring voice, “We love you and we wanna know about all of your favorite things. We wanna make you happy and we’re always going to care for you.”

Maeve smiled and Ada reached over to hug both Sara and Ava. Then Sara handed Quentin the knife and noticed his eyes were glistening as if he was trying not to cry. He cut the cake, handing the first two slices to Maeve and Ada. Everyone ate their cake and when they were done paid the bill and stood up from the table.

The crew of eight walked outside and headed towards their cars. Laurel, Quentin, and Dinah bid the family goodbye and congratulated them one last time. Eadlyn jumped into each of their arms and said goodbye. Maeve waved goodbye to all of them and Ada, surprising everyone again, gave her aunt and grandparents quick hugs before they got in their cars and drove off.

Eadlyn and Maeve climbed into the back of their car, and Sara helped buckle Ada in before driving back home to spend their first night as an official family together.

***

Once Sara, Ava, Eadlyn, Maeve, and Ada got back to their house, Sara and Ava brought the girls into the kitchen.

“So,” Sara started, “We heard that Maeve and Ada have never baked cookies before.”

“So how would you like to bake homemade cookies for dessert number two?” Ava finished.

“You’re letting us have two desserts in one night?!” Eadlyn exclaimed.

“We’ve decided to make an exception because today is a special day,” Ava responded while looking over at a smiling Sara.

Maeve and Ada both grinned with excitement which prompted, Sara, Ava, and Eadlyn to start gathering the ingredients. Eadlyn and Maeve sat on the barstools at the kitchen island and then Ava lifted Ada and placed her on the counter so that she could help. Then Ava grabbed a few hair elastics and put Ada’s dark blond hair in pigtails as it wasn’t quite long enough yet for a ponytail. She then handed Eadlyn an elastic and put Maeve’s blond hair in a ponytail before putting up her own hair. Sara and Ava let their daughters do most of the work and when mixing the dough got too tricky for them, Sara took over. By the time they had made the dough for snickerdoodles (of course) and chocolate chip cookies, Ada was covered in flour and sugar, and Maeve was spending more time eating the dough than putting it on the sheet pan to go into the oven, yet, Sara and Ava had never seen the two girls this happy and content.

While the cookies were in the oven, Sara cleaned the kitchen and Ava took the girls upstairs so Eadlyn and Maeve could put on pajamas and she could give Ada a bath to wash all of the sugar and flour off of her. By the time the kitchen was clean and everyone was in pajamas, the cookies were done and Sara and Ava carefully put them on a plate and brought them to the coffee table by the couch in the living room.

The family walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Ada sat on Ava’s lap with Eadlyn next to her, then Sara and Maeve on the other side of Eadlyn. They each picked up a cookie and started eating while Sara picked up the remote to the television. She looked down at Maeve and asked, “What do you wanna watch?”

When Maeve shyly shrugged her shoulders, Sara helped her out a little, “Do you wanna pick a Disney movie?”

She thought for a moment and then looked back up at Sara. “Tangled?” she responded quietly and as if it were a question.

Sara smiled back at her a replied reassuringly, “Of course we can watch Tangled.”

By the time the movie was over, Ada had fallen asleep in Ava’s lap, her stuffed cat cuddled into her chest and her head resting on Ava’s shoulder. As Eadlyn and Maeve were fighting to stay awake, they were each leaning on one of Sara’s shoulders and Eadlyn had her feet curled up on the couch with her. Sara picked up the remote and turned off the television and looked down and Eadlyn and Maeve, “You ready to head up to bed?”

They both nodded their head and slowly stood up off the couch. Ava also stood lifting Ada carefully trying not to wake her in the process, though she did drop her stuffed cat, which Sara picked up as she walked out of the room and towards the steps. The family of five went up the stairs and Eadlyn and Maeve stopped in the bathroom to brush their teeth. Sara and Ava brought Ada into her room so they could tuck her in for the night. When Ava laid her down in her bed, she stirred, and her eyes opened slightly.

“G’night Sara, G’night Ava”

Ava started to run her fingers through Ada’s hair and responded, “Goodnight sweetie, we love you. Is it okay if we kiss you goodnight?”

Ada nodded and both Sara and Ava leaned down to kiss her forehead.

“We’ll see you in the morning. Sweet dreams,” Sara added as she handed Ada her stuffed cat which she immediately started cuddling.

Sara and Ava quietly walked out of the room and closed the door. They headed towards the bathroom where Eadlyn and Maeve had finished brushing their teeth. Sara walked up behind Eadlyn and wrapped her arms around her. She leaned down and placed a kiss on top of her head. “How about you head to your room and mom and I will be in in a minute to tuck you in, okay?”

“Okay,” Eadlyn responded as she walked out of the bathroom and headed towards her room.

“You ready for bead Maeve-y?” Sara asked.

Maeve smiled slightly at the nickname and nodded her head. Then, the three of them headed towards her room. Maeve grabbed her stuffed bunny and climbed into her bed looking up at Sara and Ava and quietly said, “Thank you.”

Sara and Ava looked at each other slightly confused before turning back to look at Maeve. “For what?” Ava asked.

“Adopting me and Ada,” she whispered while her head peaked out from behind her stuffed bunny.

“Ohhh Maeve,” Sara said as she and Ava sat down on the edge of her bed, “We love you and we are going to do everything we can to protect you and we’re always going to be here for you, whatever you need.”

“That’s right and we are ecstatic that we get to call you, Ada, and Eadlyn our daughters,” Ava finished.

“Is it okay if we hug you?” Sara questioned.

Maeve nodded her head, sat up, and put her arms around Ava and Sara.

When they let go, Sara looked at her and said, “Goodnight, we’ll see you in the morning.”

As they left the room, they turned off the lights and closed the door before heading to Eadlyn’s room. They found Eadlyn sitting on her bed playing with her favorite stuffed elephant. When they walked in, the immediately sat next to her on her bed.

“You know we are really proud of you,” Ava started.

Eadlyn looked up slightly confused, “For what.”

“We know we haven’t been spending as much time with you as we used to. We’ve been spending the majority of our time trying to make sure that Maeve and Ada feel safe and comfortable around us. You know we don’t love you any less now that you have two sisters, right?” Sara elaborated.

“Of course, I do Mama.”

“We just wanted to make sure,” Ava finished.

“You know, I’m really excited that Maeve and Ada got adopted. I always wanted a sister and now I have two!”

“I’m glad, because we are too, and this weekend at movie night, you get to pick the movie so start thinking about what you wanna watch and what snacks you want.” Sara said.

“Really?!”

“Yep,” Ava confirmed.

“Alright, it’s late you need to get some rest. Goodnight Eady, we love you,” Sara stated.

“Sweet dreams, Eady, we love you,” Ava added.

“Good night mom, good night mama. I love you too.”

With their last kid in bed, Sara and Ava walked to their room and they brushed their teeth and got themselves ready for bed. When they headed back into their room from the bathroom, Ava immediately wrapped her arms around Sara and started kissing her neck. “You know, we have three daughters now.”

“I know,” Sara responded, “I can’t believe it.”

Ava walked over to turn off the lights and they both laid down in their bed.

“It’s still so surreal. The adoption is real, and Maeve and Ada are officially our children,” Ava continued.

“I know,” Sara started, “I love them so much already and we’ve only known them for a month. I’m so excited to watch them grow up. Even in the past month, they’ve become so much more comfortable around us. I’m so glad they were excited about the adoption.”

“Me too.”

Ava and Sara cuddled into each other so that their foreheads were touching and slowly drifted off to sleep listening to the sound of each other’s breathing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and that everyone is staying safe and healthy during the pandemic! Comments are always appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just wrote almost 3000 words about braiding. I'm kind of concerned, but not surprised, and definitely have no regrets. This chapter has lots of Maeve and Ava bonding as well as some quality family time. I know Sara has had braids on Legends before, but for the purpose of this story, she doesn't know how to braid.

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

It was a Friday afternoon in mid- October and Maeve and Ada had been adopted about three weeks ago. Sara was with the Legends on a mission to stop the appearance of iPhones in Mesopotamia and Ava was home with the girls who had recently gotten home from school. Eadlyn and Ada were both sitting on the floor of Eadlyn’s room when Ava knocked on the door. Eadlyn called for her to come in and she did while carrying a laundry basket.

“Hi mom,” Eadlyn said when she looked up at Ava.

“Hi, are you two having fun?”

“Uh- huh! Eady is teaching me how to play ‘Sorry’!” Ada said excitedly.

“That’s so cool! Are you winning?” Ava asked in response.

Ada looked down and the board and then looked back up at Ava a little confused, “I don’t know.”

Ava chuckled slightly, “I’m sure you will.” Then she turned to look at Eadlyn, “Do you have any clothes that need to go into the laundry?”

“Yep,” Eadlyn said hopping up from the ground and skipping over to the basket in the corner of her room. She handed Ava the clothes and then asked, “Will you play with us?”

“How about we play after mama gets home and we eat dinner.”

“Deal!” Eadlyn cheered before dropping back to the floor to finish their game.

She closed the door to Eadlyn’s room on the way out and headed towards the laundry room when she passed Maeve’s room. The door was slightly open and when she looked inside, she noticed Maeve sitting in the middle of the floor holding her doll in her lap and she was playing with its hair. Ava maneuvered the laundry basket to hold it with one arm and then knocked quietly on the bedroom door while peaking her head inside, “Can I come in?”

Maeve nodded her head and Ava put the laundry basket down, slipped inside the door, and sat down next to Maeve, “Watcha doing, sweetie?” Ava asked.

Maeve didn’t say anything and instead pointed to the book sitting in front of her. Ava looked at the cover and noticed the girl in the picture had her hair in two French braids.

“Ohhh are you trying to teach yourself how to braid.”

Maeve nodded and shyly looked up at Ava, “Do you know how?”

“I don’t know how to do French braids like the ones in the picture, but I know how to do a 3- strand braid. Do you want me to show you?”

Maeve smiled and handed her the doll. Ava split the dolls hair into two sections so that they could both braid. “Okay, now split the hair into three sections,” Ava spoke as she demonstrated and Maeve attempted to copy, “Then you take the left strand and cross it over the middle strand. Then you take the right strand and cross it over the middle, then the left and right again until you run out of hair.” She went slow so that Maeve could follow the motions and occasionally, Ava would stop and help her. It took a few tries before Maeve got the hang of it. When she finally accomplished a braid, it was a little messy and she missed a few strands. Maeve looked up at Ava and apprehensively bit her lip as though she were worried as to what Ava would think.

Ava, instantly trying to make her feel better, looked supportively at the little girl, “You did it! You did such a good job AND you learned much faster than I did!”

The nervousness of Maeve’s facial expressions went away, and she had a slight grin on her face.

“Okay, you keep practicing, and I’m going to start the laundry and cook dinner,” Ava said. When she got up and walked out of the room, she couldn’t help the goofy grin that appeared on her face. That was the first time she really bonded with Maeve without Sara being with her.

After Ava started the laundry, she headed to the kitchen to start dinner. Once the food was in the oven, she sat in one of the barstools at the kitchen island while waiting for it to finish cooking and pulled out her phone. She immediately went to YouTube and searched how to French braid. When she heard Sara walk in, she turned to greet her. Sara walked over, wrapped her arms around Ava, and gave her a kiss. When they parted Sara spoke, “How are you babe?”

Ava got an excited grin on her face when she spoke, “I spent some time with Maeve. She was trying to learn to braid so I taught her how to do a simple three strand braid because it’s all I know how to do. Also, Eadlyn taught Ada how to play ‘Sorry’ and I told them we could play as a family after dinner.”

“That’s awesome! And you know I’m always down for family game night,” Sara responded giving Ava another hug, “Is that why you are searching braiding tutorials on your phone?” She questioned when she saw Ava’s phone still playing a video on the counter.

“Yes,” Ava embarrassedly admitted.

Sara, noticing how uncomfortable Ava got responded, “I love how much you care. You really want to connect with her, and I love that, and I love you.”

“Ada trusted me fairly quickly, but Maeve is much more nervous around me and I want her to feel comfortable and know that I care.”

“She knows,” Sara replied, “She’s just had a rough life. I don’t think she’s used to people caring for her, I think she’s unsure of how to act.”

“She just seems to be more comfortable around you”

“I don’t know about that, but Ada is definitely more comfortable around you. She absolutely adores you and loves being around you.”

At that, the oven timer went off. “I’ll get the food on the table,” Ava started.

“I will go get our daughters,” Sara stated as she turned on her heel and walked towards the stairs.

***

After dinner, as promised, they all sat in the living room setting up the game. Eadlyn put the board on the coffee table and they all sat around it.

“Mom, there are only four players, but we have five people,” Eadlyn observed.

“That’s okay, mama and I will be a team,” Ava responded before leaning over to kiss Sara.

“Maeve doesn’t know how to play,” Ada said as she looked over a Maeve.

“We can play a practice round and show her what to do,” Eadlyn suggested and she turned to look at Maeve, “What color do you want?”

Maeve smiled at Eadlyn and picked up the yellow pieces. Then Ada picked green and Eadlyn grabbed the red leaving Sara and Ava with blue.

After they played a part of a practice round and Maeve understood the rules, they started to play for real. They played three rounds and it worked out well because Eadlyn, Maeve and Ada each won a game. When they were about to clean up, Ada looked over at Sara and Ava, “we need to play again so that you can win.”

Sara and Ava, unable to say no to her, promised her one more game before they had to go to bed. By the end of the game, Eadlyn had won a second time. After they cleaned up the game, Eadlyn put the game in the cupboard and Ada scooted towards Sara and Ava.

“I’m sorry you didn’t win,” Ada said sympathetically as she sit in Ava’s lap.

“We did win, we got to play with you,” Ava responded while tickling the little girl causing her to laugh.

At that, Ava carried Ada upstairs while Eadlyn, Maeve, and Sara followed to get ready for bed.

***

The next day, Sara was walking towards the kitchen to grab a snack when she noticed Maeve in the living room. She was sitting on the couch playing with her hair. She walked towards Maeve and spoke, “Hey Maeve-y what are ya doing?”

She shrugged her shoulders and kept playing with her hair. She had a slightly frustrated look on her face. That’s when Sara remembered her conversation with Ava the day before and realized she was probably trying to braid it.

“Were you trying to braid your hair?”

Maeve nodded and looked up at Sara, “I forgot how,” Her voice barely above a whisper.

When Sara walked towards her and when she got a closer look, she realized Maeve had knotted all of her hair and she was trying her best to fix it, “Did you knot your hair?”

Maeve nodded in agreement and Sara sat down on the couch next to her, “Would you like some help?”

Maeve nodded yet again, and Sara leaned in and tried running her fingers through her hair without hurting the small girl. After a few moments of trying and failing to detangle Maeve’s hair, Sara decided she was going to need to use a hairbrush, “Is it okay if we head into the bathroom, I think we’re going to need a hairbrush.”

Maeve nodded and grabbed Sara’s hand as they walked to the bathroom. “Can I lift you up and put you on the counter?”

Maeve agreed and Sara lifted her up and placed her next to the sink. Sara grabbed a hairbrush and some detangler before working away at Maeve’s hair. When she finally smoothed out her hair, Sara lifted Maeve off the counter and placed her on the ground, “Do you wanna go find Ava?” Sara asked, “I’m sure she could show you again.”

Maeve smiled and they both walked into Ava’s home office where they found her doing some paperwork. The door was open, but Sara knocked on it anyways so she wouldn’t scare her.

“Hey,” Ava exclaimed with a smile when she turned and saw Sara and Maeve.

“I think Maeve could use another braiding tutorial,” Sara explained.

“I can do that,” Ava said as she motioned for Maeve to come towards her.

“Do you want me to show you how to braid again, or do you want me to braid your hair?” Ava asked the small girl.

She looked up shyly at Ava and spoke softly, “Mine please.”

Maeve turned so she was standing in front of Ava who quickly put two simple braids in her hair. When Ava finished, Maeve instinctively put her hands up to grab he braids and turned to look at Ava with a smile.

“Hey,” Sara started as she squatted down to talk to Maeve, “can I ask you something, what got you so interested in braids?”

Maeve didn’t say anything but looked at her warily.

“I’m not mad sweetie, just curious because none of us known how to do intricate braids. Was it at school?”

Maeve nodded, “My teacher.”

“Does she braid her hair?” Ava joined in.

Maeve nodded again

“So, you wanted to be able to braid your hair?” Sara asked

Maeve nodded in agreement again.

“Keep practicing you will get it, you’re really smart and talented,” Ava began, “and if you need any help, you always know where to find me.”

Maeve smiled at Sara and Ava before walking out of the room.

***

That night, when Sara walked into her and Ava’s bedroom, she saw Ava focused on another braiding video. When Ava saw her walk in, she paused it, “We are going to learn how to braid, this is the first real interest Maeve has shown in something since coming to live with us. I want to be able to braid her hair for school.”

Sara smiled at her and then joined her on the bed, “I agree.”

Ava restarted the video and looked at Sara, “Will you sit in front of me? I want to try and braid your hair.”

Sara chuckled, but did as Ava asked. Ava spent an hour playing with Sara’s hair before she was successfully able to finish a French braid and even then, it was very messy. Then, Ava showed Sara the video and she successfully accomplished a French braid in about half the time.

“How did you do that so fast?” Ava questioned.

Sara just shrugged her shoulders while she moved to sit in front of Ava so she could try again. She sat contently and felt at ease while Ava was trying to braid her hair. This time, now that they both sort of knew what they were doing, were able to braid quicker and neater. Eventually, they turned out the lights and both laid down, Ava in Sara’s arms before they drifted off to sleep.

***

This is how Ava and Sara spent the next few night. They would braid each other’s hair until they were so tired, they couldn’t keep their eyes open and then they would go to bed holding each other in their arms. When they were finally confident enough in their abilities a few nights later, they decided they would surprise Maeve the next morning before school.

The next morning, Ava’s alarm went off and she jumped up out of bed, excited to surprise Maeve, Sara on the other hand, groaned and put her pillow over her head to block out the noise of the alarm.

“Sara,” Ava whispered while lightly shaking her, “We have to get up, we have to go to the Waverider and the girls have school.”

Sara reluctantly sat up and then crawled out of bed and into the bathroom to get ready. Ava walked out of the room and into Eadlyn’s room to wake her up for school, then to Maeve’s room, and then to Ada. By then, Sara was out of the bathroom she helped Ava get the three girls ready for school. Then, Ava went to go shower and get ready while Sara packed their lunches for school and fed the girls breakfast. When everyone was dressed Sara and Ava went to go talk to Maeve and Ava could not keep a smile off her face. Ava knocked before walking into Maeve’s room, with Sara on her tail, and picked up the book cover Maeve was trying to copy days before.

“Hi Maeve,” Ava said excitedly before pointing to the book cover, “Would you like me to do your hair in two French braids?”

Maeve looked confused for a moment before she spoke, “You can.”

Ava walked forwards and sat on her bed so they could talk, “Well, we know that you really wanted to have your hair braided so Sara and I learned so that we would be able to do that for you.”

Maeve immediately lit up with excitement and looked like she was about to cry at the same time, “For me?”

Sara walked over to join the conversation, “Yes, we saw how hard you were trying to braid your own hair and how happy you were when Ava did the other day and we want to make you that happy every day. We love you.”

At this point, Maeve started crying and Ava leaned forward and used the thumb to wipe the tears that had dripped down to her cheek. “We love you so much and would do anything to make you happy. Do you want me to do it?” Ava said softly as she pointed to the book cover.

Maeve nodded her head and stood in front of Ava as she started working away at her hair. Soon enough Ava had finished, and the girl had two French braids in her hair. Maeve immediately grabbed the braids. She turned and shyly looked at Ava before speaking, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Ava responded, “Is it okay if I give you a hug?”

Maeve nodded in response before leaning forward to wrap her arms tightly around Ava’s neck.

All three of them walked downstairs to get breakfast ready when they saw Eadlyn and Ada talking in the living room. They turned when they heard footsteps on the stairs and when they saw Maeve, Eadlyn’s mouth dropped, “You know how to braid?!”

“We just learned,” Sara replied.

“Will you braid my hair?” Eadlyn asked.

“Of course.”

Sara quickly braided Eadlyn’s hair while Ava and Maeve went to the kitchen to start on breakfast. When she finished, Sara turned and looked to Ada, “Would you like your hair braided?”

Ada nodded and walked towards Sara.

When it was time to leave, Eadlyn and Maeve grabbed their bags and headed outside to wait for the bus. Ava packed the car outside and kept an eye on her daughters until the bus came to pick them up. Then she strapped Ada in the car before she headed off the bring Ada to preschool.

This is how the routine started, every day before school, Sara and Ava would lift the girls onto the counter in the bathroom and braid their hair. The tradition continued for years until they eventually grew out of it in their teenage years, but even then, every so often, one of them would ask for their hair to be braided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter. I have started the next chapter and it should be up in 2 weeks at the latest. Spoiler, it's a Halloween chapter! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy and not going crazy in quarantine!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween is here!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out to be WAY more rambly than normal (The ramblings of a student in quarantine procrastinating on finals), so I split it into 2 chapters meaning you're getting Halloween Part I AND Halloween Part II. I also am not sure of the spelling of Kapeesh, or Capiche, etc, so I apologize if it is wrong.  
> IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: I finally made a decision and decided to make Avalance married.  
> 

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

Sara was taking the day off from the legends, leaving Zari in charge, to catch up on things around the house while the girls were at school and Ava was at work. She caught up on laundry, emptied the dishwasher, and even did some yardwork. A little before three o’clock, she grabbed her phone, wallet, and keys and headed out the door to walk to the preschool to pick up Ada.

When Sara arrived, she headed inside to sign her out. She finished signing her name and the teacher let Ada leave. Ada gleefully skipped towards Sara and jumped into her arms. She gave her daughter a tight squeeze before putting her down and walking hand in hand out of the school and towards the elementary school down the road to get Eadlyn and Maeve.

There was a slight chill as they walked down the road and Sara could smell the cider and donuts from the apple orchard down the street. As they walked along the sidewalk, Sara looked down at Ada to see her making a point to step on every fallen leaf and listening to the crunching sound they made. When they finally arrive at the front door of the school, they still had about 20 minutes before the other girls got out, so Sara took a seat on the bench at the front of the school and sat Ada on her lap.

“How was school today?” Sara asked.

“Good! You packed me a cookie with my lunch! Also, I got to color, and the teacher read us two stories, AND we got to use the play- doh today!”

“Really?” Sara said enthusiastically as she sat looking at her daughter mesmerized by how happy she had grown around her. Over the past two months, Ada had gotten much more comfortable and content around Sara and Ava who learned she was quite the chatterbox and very outgoing. Ava and Sara figured this would normally annoy parents, but they were both ecstatic that she felt safe enough to talk to them about anything and everything after all that she had been through at such a young age. They also realized that she absolutely loved to be cuddled and carried around. She always crawls into Ava’s lap especially if she is tired or scared. They were always happy to oblige because, again, they were delighted she felt safe enough to snuggle with them.

Sara continued to listen to Ada ramble on about her day with a smile on her face until the bell went off signaling the end of the school day. Ada reached her arms out as a signal for Sara to pick her up, and she did, backpack and all, before heading over to the group of parents waiting for their children. It was late enough in the year that the teachers recognized the parents of their students and called for the children to leave as they saw them. When the teacher saw Sara, she summoned for Eadlyn and Maeve who walked out of the door together and over to where Sara was carrying Ada.

“How was school?” Sara asked as they started to walk home.

“Fine,” Eadlyn replied, “I think I did good on my spelling test.”

“That’s awesome!” Sara replied encouragingly. Then she turned to glance at Maeve, “How about you Maeve-y, did you have a good day at school?”

Maeve nodded her head at Sara but didn’t say anything. Maeve was still quiet around her new family and when she did speak, which was occurring more and more as time went on, it was often in a whisper. Her actions did indicate that she was fond of Sara and Ava. She would often smile and laugh, and although she was not as cuddly as Ada, her hugs had gotten much more frequent over the last few months.

As they crossed the street towards their house, Sara grabbed Maeve’s hand. Once crossing the road, they walked up to the front steps and Sara unlocked the door. To everyone’s surprise, Ava was home early and carrying boxes from the attic into the living room.

“Are those the decorations!?” Eadlyn asked excitedly.

“Yep, this is the last box,” Ava said, adding it to the pile.

“What dec- decor- decorations?” Ada asked while struggling with the pronunciation.

“For Halloween,” Eadlyn replied.

Both Maeve and Ada looked up confused at their older sister.

“You don’t know Halloween? Or Trick or Treating?” Eadlyn asked, her eyes going wide in shock and disbelief.

Both Maeve and Ada shook their heads. “What is it?” Ada questioned again.

Sara turned to look at her wife who shared heartbroken looks on their faces as they realized no one had cared about these girls enough to take them trick or treating. Then Sara and Ava knelt down in front of the girls to explain it to them.

“Halloween is a holiday where you dress up and you go from house to house saying, ‘Trick or Treat’ and they give you candy,” Sara explained.

“You get to dress up?” Ada asked enthusiastically.

“Yep!” Ava confirmed, “As anything you want.”

“Anything?” Ada asked again to see if she was understanding Ava correctly.

“Yep, anything.” Ava confirmed while leaning in to tickle the small girl causing her to giggle.

“I can be a dragon?!”

“Absolutely you can!” Ava confirmed lifting her daughter up and then briefly hanging her upside down to get her to laugh again before putting her back on the ground.

“Mama, can I be aunt Laurel for Halloween?” Eadlyn asked turning to look at Sara.

“Like… lawyer aunt Laurel?”

“No. I wanna be the Black Canary.”

“I think she would love that,” Sara grinned as she walked over to hug her daughter and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

“Don’t tell her though, I wanna surprise her when she comes over.”

“We won’t,” Sara promised.

“Who’s Black Canary?” Ada questioned looking back and forth between Eadlyn and Sara.

“Aunt Laurel is a Superhero!” Eadlyn responded

“She is?”

Sara knelt in front of Ada again, “Can you keep a secret?”

Ada nodded and Sara continued, “Before you were born, aunt Laurel used to dress up as the Black Canary and stop bad guys.”

“Really?!” Ada asked jumping up and down excitedly, “I know a real superhero?!”

“Yep,” Sara responded lifting the small girl over her head like she was flying causing the little girl to giggle again.

Once Ada’s excitement started to calm down, Sara then turned to look at Maeve who was still smiling about Laurel being a superhero, “Do you know what you wanna be for Halloween?”

Maeve, who was looking at the ground, scrunched her eyebrows in thought before looking up at Sara. Biting her lip in nervousness she whispered, “Fairy?”

“Absolutely you can be a fairy,” Ava said enthusiastically trying to build Maeve’s confidence about her decision.

Even Eadlyn must have realized how insecure she was because she looked at Maeve and told her, “That’s a great idea! You will make the best fairy!”

Maeve slightly blushed and brought her hands up to her face in attempt to cover it before whispering, “Thank you,” to her older sister.

“Alright,” Sara started while opening one of the boxes in the pile Ava had made, “Let’s start decorating.”

They spent the afternoon hanging up decorations, and putting fake spider webs in the bushes, tombstones in the front yard, a haunted house sign on the door, and hung window decorations to get ready for Halloween.

***

After school that Friday, both Sara and Ava picked up the girls from school. They had promised Eadlyn they could go to the apple orchard near their house to go apple picking, get cider donuts, and pick out pumpkins to carve.

When they arrived, Sara parked the car and walked into the farm shop to purchase a bag to collect their apples in. When she finished, she met the rest of her family at the waiting area for the hayride that would bring them to the orchard.

“What are we doing,” Ada asked looking up at Ava, her cheeks slightly red from the chilly autumn breeze.

“We are waiting for the hayride. It’s going to take us up to all the apple trees,” Ava told her. When she looked up, she saw she say it in the distance and lifted Ada to show her, “See, it’s coming to pick us up.”

“We get to ride on that?” Ada asked excitedly.

“Yep,”

When the tractor pulled up, the family climbed onto the wagon in the back and waited for the others in line to climb on as well. When the tractor took off Ada enthusiastically giggled and squirmed in Ava’s lap as she pointed towards the rows of apple trees in the distance.

“How many apples are you gonna pick Eady?” Sara asked.

“More than you,” Eadlyn smirked, almost identical to the one Sara normally does.

“Ohhh really? You’re on,” Sara grinned.

The tractor stopped in the middle of the orchard and the family climbed out and walked towards the trees.

Sara handed Ava the bag and looked at Eadlyn, “Okay, keep track of the apples you pick and you have to bring them back to mom to put in the bag, whoever picks the most good apples wins. And don’t stray too far from me or mom. Ready?”

Eadlyn nodded and got into a running stance, “go,” she yelled, and she and Sara took off laughing in opposite directions.

Ava chuckled and shook her head before looking down at the two youngest girls, “How about we go this way?” she suggested.

They both nodded and started walking and until Ava stopped at a tree that was filled with ripe apples. “You’ve got to twist the apple stem until it comes lose from the tree,” Ava told them as she demonstrated.

Maeve nodded and reached up for an apple, imitating Ava’s motions until the apple snapped free.

“Great job!” Ava exclaimed before holding the bag out as an indication for Maeve to place the apple inside.

“Can I pick that one,” Ada asked pointing to an apple above her head.

Ava nodded and lifted her daughter onto her shoulders. Ada reached out towards the apple and pulled it off the tree and dropped it into the bag.

The three of them walked from tree to tree slowly picking apples until she saw Eadlyn with a handful of apples giggling and running towards her.

“How many did you get?” Ava asked as Eadlyn dropped them into the bag.

“Six” She responded before running off again.

As she disappeared Sara rounded the corner and dropped an armful of apples in the bag before giving her wife a quick kiss and disappearing into the trees.

Ava continued walking and picked an apple to eat as Maeve and Ada picked apples off the trees and placed them in the bag.

“You can eat them?” Ada questioned.

“Yah, do you wanna eat one?”

Ada nodded and Ava picked one off the tree and handed it to her, “You have to bite really hard to get the first piece, and don’t eat the stem.”

Ada nodded and struggled at first but eventually got a little piece to break off.

“Would you like one?” Ava turned to Maeve.

Maeve nodded and grabbed an apple off the tree.

Eadlyn came running down the row of trees again with another handful and dropped them into the bag. She was panting from running, her cheeks were red from running and the autumn chill, and her hair was falling out of her braid after a day of school and running through the orchard. She was about the take off again when she saw Sara rounding the corner.

Sara dropped in her handful almost filling the bag, “How many did you get?”

“12”

“I got 13, I win.”

“I’ll beat you next year,” Eadlyn assured her mom as she plucked an apple off the tree and took a bite.

They walked through the orchard as a family, slowly grabbing apples and filling the bag. When they finished, they headed back to the waiting area to take the hayride back to the main area. Sara grabbed the bag of apples from Ava and brought them to the car while Ava took the kids over to the line for the cider donuts. She purchased a dozen and they walked over to a picnic table where Sara met back up with them. She handed everyone a warm donut and napkin before grabbing one for herself and taking a bite.

“Do you like the donuts?” Sara asked.

All three girls frantically nodded as they stuffed their faces.

When they finally finished, Ava pulled a few wet wipes out of her bag and handed one to Eadlyn and Maeve. Then she cleaned Ada’s hands and face, which were covered in cinnamon sugar.

Sara threw out their trash and Ava packed up the rest of the donuts and the family walked over to the pumpkin patch. The girls walked up and down the rows of pumpkins carefully deciding which one they wanted. Eadlyn picked one that she thought would work best for carving, Maeve grabbed the only green pumpkin in the bunch, and Ada insisted on picking a gourd. Ava and Sara both grabbed a pumpkin, knowing carving a gourd was not going to work and carried them over to the scale to pay before heading home.

***

The next day, Sara grabbed the pumpkin’s and the carving knives while Ava covered the table in a tablecloth.

Eadlyn sat in the chair in front of her pumpkin and reached for a knife. Sara swiped it first and looked at her, “You have to pay attention, watch your fingers, and be careful. If you’re not, I’m gonna take it from you, Capiche?”

“Capiche,” Eadlyn agreed and Sara handed her the knife.

They spent the afternoon carving pumpkins. Sara and Ava carved Maeve’s and Ada’s while keeping a close eye on Eadlyn who was working diligently on carving a ghost. Ada chose a cat and got excited when Ava let her use her hands to dig out all the pumpkin seeds. Maeve chose an owl and sat with Sara who helped her carve it out.

When they finished, they put the pumpkins out on the front steps, with a candle and the girls helped Sara and Ava bake the pumpkin seeds, which they ate later that night while reading a book before bed.

***

On Halloween Day, Ava went to go pick up the girls from school while Sara was home, putting the candy in a bowl waiting for her father and sister to show up. When the doorbell rang, she opened the door and let Laurel and Quentin inside before giving them a hug.

“Hi Sara,” Quentin said before kissing is daughter on the head, “Where is everyone?”

“They should be back any minute, Ava went to pick them up from school.”

Sara leaned in to give her sister a hug, “Thank you so much for doing this”

“Of course!” Laurel responded letting go of her sister, “I’m not missing out on the chance to see my wonderful niece’s!”

“Can I get you anything? Water? Soda? The pizza is coming later,” Sara asked her family.

“We’re good Sara,” Quentin responded, “What did they decide to be this year?”

“Actually, they all wanted to surprise you and won’t be happy if I spoil it,” Sara chuckled.

At that, the door opened and Eadlyn rushed inside and jumped into Quentin’s arms, “Hi Grandpa!”

“Hi Eady! I missed you!”

“I missed you too,” Eadlyn replied as Quentin put her on the ground.

Then Ava walked in the door carrying Ada with one arm and holding Maeve’s hand with the other. She put Ada down so that she could close the front door behind her.

When Ava put Ada down, she walked over to Quentin. She looked up at him and smiled. Quentin knelt down next to her and she gave him a hug.

Eadlyn ran over to Laurel to give her a hug as well, “Hi Aunt Laurel!”

“Hi Eadlyn! Are you excited to go Trick or Treating tonight?”

“Uh- Huh!”

“What are you dressing up as?”

“It’s a surprise!”

“Ohhh okay,” Laurel replied as she let go of Eadlyn. Then she turned to face Ada, who also leaned in to give her a hug, “How about you Ada, are you excited to go Trick of Treating?”

“Yes, we get candy!”

Laurel laughed before letting the little girl go and standing back up. She walked over to greet Ava who gave her a hug and then she bent down to talk to Maeve.

“Hi Maeve,” Laurel hummed, “What are you dressing up as?”

Maeve blushed and looked to the ground before whispering, “Fairy.”

“You are going to make a the most beautiful fairy,” Laurel reassured her, “is it okay if I give you a hug,”

Maeve nodded and leaned in to quickly wrap her arms around her aunt. Sara and Ava smiled at each other when they noticed Maeve’s progress.

“Okay,” Sara said clapping her hands together, “Who’s Hungry? I’m going to order some pizza.”

***

Once they ate dinner, Eadlyn excitedly leaped out of her seat and announced, “I’m going to put my costume on!” before running up the stairs towards her room.

Ava looked down at Maeve and Ada, “You wanna go upstairs and put on your costumes?”

“Yes!” Ada responded and jumped out of her seat.

Maeve and Ava stood up and all walked up the stairs leaving Sara to clean the kitchen.

“Go upstairs with Ava and the kids,” Quentin said taking the plates out of Sara’s hand.

“We’ll finish cleaning up in here,” Laurel said pushing Sara towards the stairs. Sara climbed the steps and turned down the hallway knocking on the door to Ada’s room.

“Come in,” Ava called, and Sara walked in to see her helping Ada zip up her dragon costume fit with wings, scales, and fake fire.

“Ava, how did a dragon get in our house?” Sara smirked and Ada giggled in response.

“I don’t know Sara, maybe she flew in the window,” Ava joked.

“It’s not a dragon, it’s me,” Ada responded still laughing.

“It is?” Sara said picking up Ada, “I didn’t recognize you.”

Sara kissed Ada on the cheek before putting her back on the ground. “Do you know how Eadlyn and Maeve are doing,” she asked looking up at Ava.

“I don’t,” Ava replied, “I’ll take Ada and check on Eadlyn, you see how Maeve is doing.”

Ava knocked on the door to Eadlyn’s room before walking in. She saw Eadlyn standing in front of the mirror putting on her mask.

“You look so cool Eady!” Ava told her, “Here let me help.” She walked over to her and fixed the pieces of hair that were sticking up around elastic that was holding her black eye mask, that was identical to Laurel’s, on her face.

“Mom, do you think aunt Laurel will like it?” Eadlyn asked biting her lip.

“I think she is going to love it!” Ava said before hugging her daughter.

When Sara knocked on Maeve’s door, she opened it and let Sara in. She had mostly finished putting on her costume, she just had the wings and a pink flower crown that she wanted to wear.

“Do you need any help?” Sara asked.

“Yes please,” Maeve whispered handing Sara the fairy wings.

Sara helped her attach the wings to her costume and then braided and pinned the flower crown in her hair for her. “You are a beautiful fairy,” Sara told her as she put the finishing touches on Maeve’s costume.

Maeve smiled and they both opened the door and walked out of the room to meet Eadlyn, Ada, and Ava in the hallway.

“Can I go show Aunt Laurel my costume?” Eadlyn asked.

“Let’s go,” Ava responded, and they all walked down the stairs.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Eadlyn ran towards Laurel who was talking to Quentin with her back to her. When Quentin saw her over Laurel’s shoulder he smiled.

“Aunt Laurel look!”

When Laurel turned, her hands covered her mouth in shock, “You dressed up as me?”

“Yep,” Eadlyn grinned leaning in to hug her aunt.

“What do we have here?” Quentin asked looking over Laurel’s shoulder at the rest of the family.

“I’m a dragon!” Ada announced running over to Quentin so she could show him her costume, “Look, it’s green and has wings!”

Then Ava looked at the time, “Okay, how about we take a few pictures and then it will be time go leave.” She grabbed her phone and took some pictures of everyone before Sara and Ava got ready to leave.

“Thank you for handing out the candy again this year,” Sara told her father and sister.

“Of course!” Laurel responded, “You better get going, kids are starting to walk around outside.”

The five of them walked out the door and to the houses in the neighborhood. Eadlyn and Ada were always the ones to excitedly announce “Trick or Treat” while Maeve stood shyly behind them not saying anything. As they went from house to house, adults handing out candy would complement their costumes and fill their baskets. Sara and Ava would only walk partially up the driveways of each house because Eadlyn insisted that she was old enough to go up on her own and she could watch her sisters. When they made it to a house down the road, a man opened the door.

“Trick or Treat,” Eadlyn and Ada announced, and the man handed them candy and then turned to look at Maeve.

“You didn’t say ‘Trick or Treat’,” he confronted her, “You have to say, ‘Trick or Treat’ or you don’t get any candy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I left it on a little bit of a cliffhanger, but I should have the next chapter up in, at most, 2 weeks! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween Part II is here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a full two weeks, but I am finally updating! I hope you're not too mad I left the last chapter at a bit of a cliffhanger.

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

“You didn’t say ‘Trick or Treat’,” he confronted her, “You have to say, ‘Trick or Treat’ or you don’t get any candy.”

Maeve’s eyes went wide with fear by the man confronting her and she started to back away. Sara and Ava looked up to see what was taking so long when they saw Maeve backing down the steps by the front door and the man still talking at her. Sara and Ava rushed over to see what was going on. When they made it to the front steps, they saw Ada put on her most threatening face (for a four-year-old) before she started speaking.

“Why are you being mean?!” She huffed angrily at the man.

“You have to say, ‘Trick or Treat’ to get candy and she didn’t say anything, so she doesn’t get any candy,” the man raised his voice, now angry that the girls were arguing with him.

Before Sara and Ava could say anything, Eadlyn spoke up, “Don’t talk to my sister’s like that! She doesn’t speak to strangers, so we say ‘Trick or Treat’ for her! Why won’t you give her any candy? She didn’t do anything to you so why are you being such a dick!?”

“What is going on,” Ava interrupted before the man could speak again, while Sara knelt down where Maeve was at the bottom of the front steps to see if she was okay.

“He won’t give Maeve candy,” Ada responded. Her eyes glistened as if she were trying her hardest not to cry.

“What do you mean you won’t give my daughter any candy,” Ava asked the man trying her best to say civil even after everything that had happened.

“You only get candy if you say, ‘Trick or Treat’,” the man repeated for the third time that night.

“She doesn’t talk to people she doesn’t know, so how about you just give her a piece of candy so we can leave.”

“Not after your children have been such a pain in my fuc-.”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” Sara yelled at the man. She was carrying Maeve on her hip as she walked up the stairs towards her family. She had managed to slightly calm Maeve down, though she was still sniffling and had her head rested on Sara’s shoulder. “YOU WILL NOT TALK TO ANYONE IN MY FAMILY LIKE THAT, EVER! NOW GIVE THIS SWEET LITTLE GIRL A PIECE OF CANDY OR I SWEAR I WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE A LIVING HELL FOR MISTREATING ALL OF MY KIDS!”

“Wait, they’re both of your kids,” The man smirked, “So you’re-.”

“Finish that sentence and see what happens,” Sara glared, visibly pissed at the man.

When the man still refused to give her candy, Sara adjusted Maeve so she was holding her with one arm. She used her free arm discretely reached out for the man’s hand grabbing his index finger and slowly started bending it backwards. The man yelped in pain and tried to bend his arm and get out of Sara’s grip, but she didn’t let go. Instead she kept slowing bending his finger back.

Sara leaned towards him and whispered through gritted teeth, “I wasn’t kidding. Give her a piece of candy.”

The man shook his head causing Sara to rip his finger back, causing it to break and reached into his bowl of candy, grabbing a handful, and placing it in Maeve’s basket. Then, she turned on her heel and walked down the front steps.

“Come on,” Ava said, placing her hand on Ada’s back and leading her down the steps after Sara.

“You’re still a dick!” Eadlyn spoke, her teeth gritted in anger, as she took the piece of candy he had given her and threw it at the man, hitting him in the forehead. Then she turned and walked down the steps behind her family, the man slamming the door behind her causing both Maeve and Ada to jump.

When they got to the end of the driveway Ada spoke first, “Why was he so mean?”

“I don’t know sweetie,” Ava responded as she leaned down to pick Ada up and gave her a hug, “Sometimes people are just mean.”

Ada nodded in response.

“I am very proud of you for sticking up for your sister, but you’re not allowed to call other people a dick. capiche?” Ava said turning to look at Eadlyn.

“Capiche, although he deserved it,” Eadlyn replied, even in the dark, she could see both of her mom’s trying not to smile proudly at what she had done.

“That he did, but it still doesn’t make it right,” Sara said trying, and failing, to keep a straight face before tilting her head to get a better look at Maeve who she was still carrying, “Do you wanna keep ‘Trick or Treating’ or do you wanna go home?”

Maeve just shrugged before resting her head back on Sara’s shoulder.

“It’s almost over anyways, how about we head home and stop at a few houses along the way?” Eadlyn suggested.

“How does that sound?” Ava asked Maeve and Ada.

They both nodded and started to head home.

As they walked down the road, they reached a house close to theirs, “Can we stop here?” Eadlyn asked.

Sara and Ava nodded walking down the driveway behind them. The house was occupied by a sweet older lady that always sat out on her front porch and would talk to the neighborhood kids and their parents, so they all knew her quite well. Not only did she give out candy, but she would fill her porch with chips, candy, little toys, and baked goods for the kids. This time they all walked up to the house together and rang the doorbell. The lady greeted the family and when she saw Maeve’s eyes still red from crying, she looked sympathetically at the small girl, “Why the sad eyes?”

“The mean man wouldn’t give her any candy and yelled at her,” Ada responded.

“Really? That’s awful,” She said turning the grab her basket of candy, “We can’t have that can we.” Then the lady proceeded to take multiple handfuls of candy and place them in her bucket. Maeve smiled and both Sara and Ava thanked the sweet elderly woman.

When they reached their house, Eadlyn ran through the yard and up to the front door, ringing the doorbell. Quentin answered and Eadlyn announced, “Trick or Treat.” Quentin chuckled and dropped a piece candy in her basket. The smile on his face turned to worry when he saw how distraught the rest of the family was behind her.

“Ohhh no, what happened,” Quentin asked worried.

“What do you mean what happened,” Laurel questioned walking up behind her father. She also got a concerned look on her face when she saw her sister.

“We’re going to go sit down,” Sara announced carrying Maeve over to the couch placing her in her lap. “How about we take the wings off so you can get more comfortable?”

Maeve nodded and sat up so Sara could remove them and place them on the coffee table. Then, she curled into Sara who proceeded to wrap them both in a blanket.

“What happened?” Laurel turned to question Ava.

“We had a problem at one of the houses.”

“What kind of problem?” Quentin asked.

“A man wouldn’t give Maeve candy and then yelled at us and tried to insult mommy and mama,” Eadlyn told her aunt and grandpa.

“Who?!?” Quentin started putting on his shoes, “You know, I am the mayor of this city and I’m going to give this man a piece of my mind.”

“I’m going with him,” Laurel spoke up grabbing her coat, “I’m the district attorney, that should scare him. He messed with the wrong family.”

“You really don’t have to; You’re not going to change his mind.”

“And you’re not going to change ours. Which house is it?” Laurel said leaning into hug Ava.

Ava sighed before responding, “17.” Laurel let go of Ava and followed Quentin out the door.

“I don’t even know what just happened,” Ava said, shaking her head as she sat on the couch next to Sara. Then, she started rubbing Maeve’s back, “How are you doing, sweetie?”

Maeve slightly lifted her head and smiled at Ava, “good.”

“I’m glad. Would you like to eat some candy?”

Maeve nodded and took a Twix bar out of her candy bucket. Sara opened it and handed it back to the little girl.

“Can we eat our candy now?” Eadlyn asked.

“Of course,” Sara responded and Eadlyn grabbed her bucket before sitting down on the floor and taking out a Hershey’s chocolate bar. Ada, who had recently gotten into imitating her older sister, grabbed a Hershey’s bar as well and asked Ava to open it. When she did, Ada crawled into her lap to eat it.

***

They sat in the living room eating candy for a while and before long, Quentin and Laurel walked back in the front door. “Here you go,” he said walking into the living room with the man’s entire bowl of candy.

“You took his bowl of candy?” Sara asked her father.

“No, he gave it to me, you don’t mess with the family of the mayor of the city,” Quentin winked at his daughter.

Sara rolled her eyes but was grateful for her father. They all chatted in the living room for a while before it was time for Laurel and Quentin to leave. Maeve waved to her aunt and grandpa while the rest of the family hugged them goodbye.

“Alright,” Ava said, standing up from the couch and taking Ada with her, “Who’s ready for bed?”

“Do we have to?” Eadlyn whined.

“Yes, you have school tomorrow,” Sara said, also standing up and lifting Maeve into her arms.

They walked upstairs and Eadlyn went into her room to change out of her costume and into pajamas. Sara carried Maeve into her room before stopping in front of her dresser, “Can I put you down.”

Maeve nodded and Sara placed her on the ground before taking some pajamas out of her drawer. “Do you need help getting out of your costume?”

Maeve nodded again and Sara helped her into her pajamas. Ava did the same for Ada and all five of them met in the bathroom so the girls could brush their teeth.

“We’re going to put Ada to bed,” Ava started, “we’ll meet the two of you in your rooms.”

The three of them walked to Ada’s room and Sara and Ava tucked her in. “Other than that one house, how was your first Halloween?” Sara asked.

“Fun!” Ada smiled, clutching her stuffed cat.

“I’m glad,” Ava said, “Alright, good night baby.” She leaned down to kiss her forehead before standing up.

“Sweet dreams,” Sara announced while she leaned down to kiss Ada’s forehead, “I’ll see you in the morning. We love you.”

“Good night Sara, good night Ava,” Ada said before rolling over on her side to sleep.

Next, they walked into Eadlyn’s room, where she was already under the covers. As Sara and Ava walked over to her bed, Eadlyn asked, “Why doesn’t Maeve talk much?”

“Well,” Ava started, “I think she’s still scared. She’s had a lot of people be mean to her, so she doesn’t know who to trust.”

“Ohhh, well why?”

“Why what,” Sara asked.

“Why were people mean to her?”

“I don’t know baby,” Ava responded.

“Did you have a good Halloween,” Sara asked changing the subject.

“Yep. I think I got more candy this year than last year!”

“Well, how about you go to sleep so you can eat some tomorrow,” Sara said leaning down to kiss her daughter, and Ava followed doing the same.

“Goodnight mom. Goodnight Mama.”

“Goodnight. We love you,” Ava said before walking out of the room with Sara.

When Sara and Ava walked into Maeve’s room, they saw her grabbing her stuffed bunny and crawling into bed.

“We’re sorry for what that man did to you today,” Ava said giving her daughter a sympathetic smile while sitting next to her on the bed.

Maeve just looked down and shrugged her shoulders. Sara sat on the other side of Maeve before speaking, “We want you to know the man was wrong. You don’t have to talk to anyone you don’t want to.”

“I know a lot of people, us included, ask if they can hug you and you aren’t obligated to say yes. You can also say no. You don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with,” Ava added.

Maeve looked up at Ava and smiled in response.

“Did you have a good time tonight other than that?”

Maeve nodded.

“Alright,” Sara said while standing up, “You need to get some sleep before school tomorrow.”

Ava also got up and they tucked Maeve in under the covers. “Goodnight Maeve, we love you,” Both Sara and Ava said while they finished.

“Goodnight,” Maeve spoke softly as she rolled over to get comfortable.

Ava hit the lights and closed her door on her way out and followed Sara into their room.

Once they both got ready for bed, Sara walked up behind Ava and wrapped her arms around her before gently kissing her on the neck. Ava turned around and rested her arms on Sara’s shoulders before leaning in for a deep kiss.

“I love you,” Ava whispered when the kiss finally broke, “I’m also really proud you didn’t beat the shit out of that guy in front of our children.”

“If I wasn’t holding Maeve I would have.”

Ava laughed, “Well, he did deserve it. I also can’t believe your father and sister went to his house and somehow managed to come back with his entire bowl of candy.”

“Well, they will do anything for family,” Sara smiled before reaching out to gently tuck a lose strand of hair behind Ava’s ear and pulling her close for a lingering kiss.

***

In the middle of the night, Sara and Ava were awoken by the blood curdling scream of a child. They jumped out of bed and sprinted towards the sound coming from Maeve’s room. Sara opened the door and ran inside; Ava close behind her. They looked to the corner of the room where Maeve’s bed was and saw her having a nightmare. She was still screaming, and her body was shaking and covered with sweat. They both went to her side to try and wake her up. Sara started to softly rub her arm not wanting to hug her as she was still wary of them and didn’t want to startle the small girl even more.

“Maeve, it’s okay. It’s Sara and I’m here with Ava. You’re having a bad dream, it’s not real.” Sara continued to speak to Maeve while rubbing her arm trying to get her to wake up. After what felt like forever, she shot up and tears continued streaming down her face. She looked around the room slightly confused before settling on Sara who was still beside her.

“Hey,” She hummed trying not to startle her while still gently rubbing her arm, “You had a bad dream. You’re at home, with Sara and Ava. You’re safe,” Sara kept softly talking to the girl, with the hope of calming her down so her shaking would stop.

Then Ava heard a sniffling sound coming from behind her and realized the screaming had woken both Eadlyn and Ada. The latter was crying and holding her stuffed cat. Ava walked towards them and a distraught Ada asked, “Is Maeve okay?”

“Yeah, she just had a bad dream. How about we go in the other room and let Sara talk to her okay?” Ada and Eadlyn both nodded and Ava ushered them out of the room, picking up a crying Ada in the process, and brought them into her and Sara’s bedroom.

“I’m going to go make sure Maeve is okay. Okay?” Ava said while she kissed Ada on the head and put her down next to Eadlyn on the bed. She waited for Ada to nod in agreement before walking back to stand in the doorway of Maeve’s room in case they needed anything.

Sara continued talking to Maeve and she slowly stopped shaking and her breathing became more normal. When she was finally aware of her surroundings, she put her arms out towards Sara as an indication for a hug. Sara instantaneously obliged and lifted Maeve out of bed who wrapped her arms around Sara’s neck and rested her head on Sara’s shoulder, soaking her shirt with tears.

Sara paced around the room holding her up with one arm and rubbing her back with the other as she whispered in her ear, “You’re safe now. Ava and I are right here, and we aren’t going to let anything happen to you. You’re safe,” over and over until eventually she stopped crying.

Sara sat down on Maeve’s bed, shifting her so she could sit in her lap and she immediately curled into Sara. Ava came and sat down next to them looking sympathetically at Maeve.

Sara continued to rub Maeve’s back as Ava spoke, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Maeve contemplated before responding, “It was about daddy. He yelled like that man.” Then, she buried her head in Sara’s chest even more, clearly not wanting to say anything else.

“You don’t have to say anything else,” Ava started, “but if you ever do wanna talk about what happened, Sara and I are all ears. That goes for anything, not just with your dad.”

“I’m sorry I woke you up,” Maeve whispered looking down at her hands as though she were embarrassed.

“Hey,” Ava said gently as she used her index finger to lift Maeve’s chin, so they were eye level, “You never have to worry about waking us up if you have a nightmare. We are here for you. We’re not going to get mad, we wanna help you and we’re not going to let anything bad happen to you. We love you so much.” Ava leaned in and used the thumb to wipe away the tears that were still staining her cheeks.

“Do you wanna stay with us for the rest of the night?” Sara asked looking down at the small girl.

Maeve lifted her head off Sara’s chest and nodded. Sara stood, taking Maeve with her and Ava followed them into their room where Eadlyn and Ada were waiting. When Ada saw them, she immediately ran to her sister, “Are you okay?”

Maeve nodded and Sara put her down so she could hug her sister. They stood hand in hand, Ada looking up at her big sister to make sure she really was okay, while Ava talked, “Do you wanna stay in here tonight?”

When Ada and Eadlyn nodded, all five of them climbed into the bed. Eadlyn leaned into Ava’s side while Sara wrapped her arm around Maeve who was still holding onto Ada. It didn’t take long for them to drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is doing well. Comments are always appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Thanksgiving and Ava's birthday! I used November 26th as the date because that is the day that Season 4 Episode 6 (her birthday episode) aired, it also happens to be Thanksgiving this year so I made them the same day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I usually update on Sunday, but I had to wait an extra day to wish everyone a HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!!!!!! *Insert Rainbow Emoji here*
> 
> My ramblings ended up being super long again, so this is Thanksgiving Part I and the next chapter is Thanksgiving Part II.

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

Ava reached over to her shut off the blaring alarm on her nightstand at 7am before proceeding to lightly rub her eyes. Sara, who normally groaned and pulled a pillow over her face not wanting to get up, rolled over and softly kissed Ava on the lips.

“Good morning and Happy Birthday,” Sara smiled against Ava’s lips.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Ava responded grabbing Sara and pulling her closer to deepen the kiss.

They were lost in each other until they heard running footsteps in the hallway and then their bedroom door started to open, and Sara immediately flopped back onto her side of the bed. Eadlyn came running in and jumped onto the bed in between her mothers.

“Happy Birthday Mom!” Eadlyn said excitedly, her dark blond hair still messy from sleeping.

Ava leaned over and pulled her eldest daughter into a hug, “Thank you baby.”

Eadlyn rolled her eyes before responding, “Mom, I’m eight, I’m not a baby.”

Sara playfully bumped into her daughter, causing Eadlyn to slightly lose her balance, and started tickling her, “Let mom have this. It’s her birthday.” Then she leaned in to hug her daughter while the three of them continued talking.

***

Ada awoke and sat up rubbing her eyes and yawning. She could hear commotion coming from Sara and Ava’s room at the end of the hall. She stood up and walked out of her room before quietly knocking on her older sister’s door. Maeve came out and smiled at her sister before they strolled into Sara and Ava’s room.

“Hey,” Sara said, as she saw Maeve and Ada enter. Sara patted the bed as an indication for them to join the family and they both jumped up.

“Happy birthday Ava!” Ada exclaimed crawling across the bed and plopping down in Ava’s lap to give her a hug.

“Thank you, baby,” Ava replied while cuddling her youngest daughter.

“Happy Birthday,” Maeve blushed as she leaned in and gave Ava a quick hug.

“Thank you,” Ava smiled.

“Okay,” Sara hopped out of bed when she looked at the time and saw it was 7:30am, “We need to start getting ready. We promised the Legends we would meet them on the Waverider for breakfast at 8:30am.”

Sara had assured Laurel and Quentin (her mom wasn’t able to make it this year) they would have Thanksgiving dinner together. Because of this, the family couldn’t have dinner with the Legends, so Sara and Ava promised them they would have breakfast together to make up for it.

Maeve and Eadlyn walked to their rooms to put on the outfits that were picked the night before. Eadlyn decided to wear black leggings, an oversized sweater, and boots, and Maeve had dark wash jeans, a loose-fitting yellow blouse, and brown boots. Sara went into the shower first while Ava helped Ada put on a brown dress with an orange and yellow turkey on it with orange leggings and brown shoes. Then, when Sara finished and was wearing black jeans, and olive-green shirt with a jacket, and black boots, Ava showered, and Sara did the girls hair and made sure they brushed their teeth.

When Ava came downstairs at 8:15am wearing dark wash jeans, a turtleneck, and brown blazer, she used her time courier to open a portal onto the Waverider. They walked onto the Bridge and headed for the kitchen.

Nate saw them first and got up to greet them, “Happy Thanksgiving Captain, and Mrs. Captain, and to the crew of little Lance’s! And Happy Birthday Mrs. Captain,” He leaned into hug Sara and Ava. When he let go, Eadlyn launched herself into his arms. Nate turned and carried Eadlyn into the Kitchen, the rest of the family following close behind.

When they walked into the kitchen, Nora and Ray were putting the last of the breakfast trays that Gideon had fabricated on the table buffet style while Zari and Mick were not so subtly taking food off of the trays and stuffing it into their mouths.

“Hey,” All of the Legends greeted the family when they walked in the room.

Nate put Eadlyn down and she ran over to greet the rest of the Legends, Ada following close behind. Sara and Ava also made the rounds, greeting their teammates with Maeve who was holding Ava’s hand.

When the greetings were finished, they grabbed their plates and started to dig into the food, Sara and Ava helping their children so they wouldn’t drop anything.

As they started to eat, Sara looked over and noticed that Ada had Ava distracted, talking about a frog she and her friends had found during school recess earlier that week. Sara looked over at Zari, who was sitting next to her, and whispered, “You and the others still on for next Friday?”

Zari made sure Ava was not looking before nodding her head in conformation while shoving a donut in her mouth.

The Legends were telling the family about their latest mission to fix bigfoot from showing up and messing with the invention of the plane until Eadlyn grinned and looked over at Charlie, “Will you do the trick?!”

Charlie smirked before shapeshifting into an exact copy of Eadlyn, causing Eadlyn to throw her head back laughing.

“How did you do that?” Ada questioned in awe of what was happening in front of her.

“I’m a shapeshifter. Watch,” Charlie responded before shifting into Ada.

Ada immediately giggled and all the adults at the table smirked, surprised that Charlie was doing a great job at entertaining the kids.

“I also have cool powers,” Nate said from across the table and Eadlyn nodded her head in confirmation.

“Really?” Ada asked.

“Yep,” Nate responded before turning himself to steel and causing all three girls to laugh again.

“So do I,” Ray piped up before calling for the atom suit and shrinking down.

The rest of the morning was spent with the majority of the Legends trying to prove they had the best superpowers while Sara and Ava sat in their chairs next to each other sighing and rolling their eyes because no one was going to be able to win the squabble.

Eventually, Sara stepped in to stop the argument saying they had to leave soon to make desserts before going to Laurel’s for dinner.

Everyone helped clean the kitchen before the goodbye’s started. Mick grunted towards the family before picking up his beer and heading back towards his room. Everyone else quickly said goodbye to the family before they portalled back to their home.

***

The family walked into the kitchen as the portal closed behind them. “Alright,” Ava started as she clapped her hands together, “who wants to help me make an apple pie and some brownies for tonight?”

All three girls nodded their heads and sprinted towards the kitchen eager to get started. Ava smiled and walked hand in hand with Sara into the kitchen. Ava started to get out the ingredients and Sara picked up her phone which was finally getting service after stepping off the Waverider. She smiled when she received a message from Quentin saying he picked up Ava’s birthday cake and was bringing it to Laurel’s. Sara, Laurel and Quentin wanted to do something special for Ava’s birthday because they did not want it to get overshadowed by Thanksgiving this year. Sara knew what that was like, as her birthday is on Christmas, and wanted to make sure they celebrated Ava as well as Thanksgiving.

While Ava was distracted with baking, Sara grabbed the time courier and snuck upstairs to grab all the presents from her and the kids as well as the decorations. She time portalled into Laurel’s house to find Quentin had also just arrived.

“I will never get used to you doing that,” Quentin mumbled to his youngest daughters when she walked through the portal and leaned in to give her a hug.

Sara chuckled and greeted her father before turning to hug her sister, “Hey,” she smiled.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Laurel grinned and picked up some of the decorations.

Sara bent over to pick up some streamers and a package of balloons when Quentin took them from her. “Nope, you’ve got to go back home so Ava doesn’t realize your missing. We’ve got it,” he spoke as he gestured towards his eldest daughter who nodded in agreement. Sara just sighed and promised to text before they left and grabbed the time courier to portal back into her bedroom.

After clearing the time courier log history, she walked down the stairs and towards the kitchen to see Ava cutting the apples for the pie while Eadlyn was struggling to mix the thickened brownie batter.

“Would you like some help, Eady?” Sara asked rolling up her sleeves as she walked over to her daughter.

“Yes please,” Eadlyn responded as she stepped back to give Sara room. When she finished, Eadlyn handed her the pan and she poured the batter in before placing it by the oven knowing the pie would take longer to bake.

Ava finished cutting the apples and placed them in a mixing bowl. She had Maeve and Ada help her add the necessary ingredients one by one following the instructions precisely and soon enough the pie was in the oven and the brownies followed.

Sara lifted Ada off the counter and the five of them headed upstairs to get ready for Laurel’s. Ava walked into her bedroom and towards the master bathroom to wash up after baking while Sara texted her sister and father saying they were leaving soon after gathering pajamas for each of the girls, knowing they would be staying late.

The oven timer went off and Ava grabbed the desserts and packaged them while Sara helped the girls put on shoes and jackets. Sara ushered everyone outside towards the car and put the desserts in the trunk before walking over and climbing into the driver’s seat to start the car. Ava helped buckle in Ada while Maeve and Eadlyn climbed in on the other side and put their seatbelts on. When Ava climbed into the passenger seat, Sara pulled out of the driveway and headed to her sister’s.

***

The drive took longer than expected due to the holiday traffic, but they eventually arrived and walked up to Laurel’s apartment. Eadlyn excitedly knocked on the door impatient to see her aunt and grandpa. When Laurel opened the door, she instinctively opened her arms knowing Eadlyn would jump in them and she would need to brace herself. When Eadlyn did jump, she caught her, but slightly stumbled backwards.

“Happy Thanksgiving! Come in, come in!” Laurel spoke and the family walked in, Ava closing the door behind them.

Laurel put Eadlyn down and she ran towards Quentin who came to the apartment entrance to meet them. Laurel leaned in to hug her sister and Ava, who she wished a happy birthday. Ada skipped towards her aunt and Laurel picked her up for a hug. Lastly, Maeve leaned into hug Laurel, who lightly wrapped her free arm around the small girl’s shoulder and let go, knowing she still wasn’t fully comfortable around her yet. Laurel smiled as she, still carrying Ada, Sara, and Quentin lead Ava into the kitchen. When they walked in, the three of them yelled “Happy Birthday” and Ava’s hands immediately went up to cover her mouth in shock.

The kitchen table was covered in a table cloth with a cake in the center and confetti surrounding it, balloons and streamers were hanging from the ceiling in both the kitchen and living room, a “Happy Birthday” banner was hanging on the wall behind the couch, and there was a pile of presents neatly stacked on the coffee table.

“You did all of this for me?” She said looking at her family who appeared blurry due to the happy tears forming in her eyes.

“It was all Sara’s idea,” Quentin responded, “We just helped her set up.”

Sara walked over to Ava, wrapping her in her arms and gave her a chaste kiss before leaning back and smiling at her, “You didn’t think I would let Thanksgiving overshadow your birthday, did you?”

Ava just smiled in response before leaning in for another hug and whispering, “I love you,” in Sara’s ear.

“I love you too,” Sara responded before leading her towards the couch and sitting her down. Eadlyn and Ada ran and jumped into her lap while Maeve sat beside her and leaned into her side. The all hugged her and wished her a happy birthday. Sara secretly snapped a few pictures before Laurel spoke up when she emerged from the kitchen, “The food will be done in about an hour and a half.”

“Would you like any help,” Sara and Ava both offered.

“No, you are my guests, have a seat and enjoy yourselves.”

Sara sauntered to the couch and sat next to Maeve, “Do you wanna play a game?”

Maeve and Ada nodded and Eadlyn hopped up and jogged towards the game cabinet underneath the television. “What do you wanna play?” Eadlyn turned to ask her sister’s as she started pulling games out of the cabinet.

Maeve shrugged and Ada responded with an “I don’t know.”

“How about Chutes and Ladders?” Ava suggested knowing it would be an easy game for Ada to understand.

Eadlyn grabbed the game and Sara moved the presents so they could set up on the coffee table. Maeve opened the board and placed it on the table while Eadlyn attached the characters to the stands.

Ada looked up at Ava and asked, “Will you play?”

“Of course,” Ava smiled wrapping her daughter in a tight hug, “Do you wanna ask everyone else? We can play in teams.”

Ada nodded jumping off Ava’s lap and walked into the kitchen. When she came back and plopped in Ava’s lap, she was followed by Laurel and Quentin who both took seats around the coffee table.

“Can I play on your team?” Ada asked tilting her head to look at Ava.

Ava kissed her on the nose while looking back at her, “I would love to be on your team.”

Sara looked down at Maeve who was sitting next to her and asked, “Can I be on your team?”

Maeve smiled happily and nodded her head in response.

“Can I be on my own team?” Eadlyn questioned.

“You don’t wanna be on my team?” Laurel smirked, joking with her niece.

Eadlyn looked mortified and apologetic before Laurel smiled in response, “I’m messing with you little miss independent, I’ll play on grandpa’s team.”

“I’m not THAT little,” Eadlyn rolled her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I stand corrected. Old miss independent,” Laurel countered causing Eadlyn to blush while everyone else laughed.

They played a couple rounds before Laurel had to get up and take the food out of the oven and Sara and Quentin set the table.

Soon enough dinner was served, and everyone was taking their seats. They all started to eat and Eadlyn and Ada told everyone stories about their adventures at school. When the three kids had finished eating, they got up to go play Candyland leaving the adults at the table.

Laurel was in the middle of telling her family about her latest DA case when Eadlyn ran over to Ava. “Can we have dessert?” she whispered trying not to interrupt her aunt.

Laurel stopped talking anyways and mouthed “yes” towards Ava in response to Eadlyn’s question. Ava turned to look at her daughter, “Yes, how about you help us clean the table first so we can get it set up.”

“Moooom,” Eadlyn whined in response.

“Eadlyn,” Sara spoke while giving Eadlyn a pointed look.

Eadlyn huffed but brought her plate over to the sink anyways. All the adults stood and started to clear the table. Maeve and Ada walked into the room, and although they were told not to touch the ceramic dishes, they were asked to grab the paper plates for dessert.

After the table was clear and all the desserts, except for the birthday cake, were on the table, Sara went to grab a few candles. She strategically placed them in the cake before sending everyone to the table and turning off the lights. Everyone took their seats and Ada climbed into Ava’s lap and she instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around her youngest daughter. Sara carried the glowing cake towards Ava while everyone sang happy birthday and placed the cake on the table in front Ava. She leaned forward, tightly holding Ada away from the flame as she blew out her candles.

Sara picked up a knife started to cut a piece to hand to Ava. Sara cut a slice of cake for everyone before cutting one for herself and taking her seat next to her wife.

Eadlyn gulped down her desert so fast she almost threw up before she looked to her moms, “Can I have another piece please?”

“How about one small brownie, and you have to eat it slower, so you don’t throw up,” Ava compromised, not wanting her daughter hopped up on sugar or puking for the rest of the night.

Eadlyn agreed, grabbed the brownie, and took a small bite. Once everyone had finished, Ava picked up Ada and carried her to the sink to wipe the frosting that was covering her face and everyone else started to clean the kitchen.

When they finally finished Eadlyn turned to Sara, “Can we give mommy her gifts now?”

Sara looked down at her and grinned, “I think that is an excellent idea.”

Sara wrapped her eldest daughter in a hug and kissed on the head before gathering Ava and leading her to the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tentatively, the next chapter will be up on June 14th (2 weeks), but I've been working a lot so my time to write is limited.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm Back! And with Thanksgiving Part II. I can't believe it's been over a week since the season finale, I miss them!! Also, yes, I did steal all of the birthday card ideas off Pinterest.

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

Sara led Ava to the couch so they could give her her birthday gifts. When she sat down, Ada jumped on her lap while everyone else grabbed their gifts and gathered around her. Sara sat next to her with Maeve in her lap, holding her giftbag for Ava to her chest.

“You all got me gifts,” Ava said in shock.

“Of course,” Sara started, “It’s not a birthday party without gifts.”

Ava smiled and tears of happiness started to stream down her face, “Thank you everyone.”

Eadlyn proudly handed Ava her gift first and she graciously took it. She looked at the card first which she had glued a bunch of candles too and then drew a flame above each of them with a marker. Underneath she wrote in her messy eight- year- old handwriting “Make a Wish.” Next, she took the wrapped gift. Eadlyn had clearly done it herself but didn’t quite get it right and had pieces of the wrapping paper sticking up. When she ripped off the paper, she found a small box which contained a homemade clay keychain that said “Mom” and each letter was painted with a different pattern.

“Thank you Eady,” Ava said while she leaned over, Ada still in her arms, to hug Eadlyn.

Quentin looked around and, when no one moved, handed Ava a box. Inside was a simple card and an expensive bottle of alcohol which she graciously thanked him for.

“Can I go next?” Ada asked enthusiastically looking up at Ava.

Ava nodded and Ada handed her the giftbag she was holding. She took out the card first to see that, for the cover, she had used her thumbprints and paint to make balloons and someone, most likely Sara, had drawn the strings. Inside, Sara wrote a note and Ada had signed her name in big childlike letters underneath as well as drawing a picture Ava could not quite make out. Then, Ava reached inside the giftbag again and pulled out a decorated coffee mug.

“I drawed on it and Sara put it in the oven,” Ada told Ava excitedly, “It’s the sun and flowers and you and Sara and Eady and Maeve and me,” she explained while pointing out all of the drawings. Ava noticed that Sara had written underneath who each person was so Ava would understand. “Do you like it?” Ada asked looking back up at Ava.

“I love it,” Ava assured her and pulled her close, placing a kiss on her head.

Laurel leaned over and handed her a box that looked professionally wrapped in a golden and navy-blue wrapping paper. Ava read the fancy card, which Laurel had signed “Love, your sister Laurel,” before unwrapping the gift. Inside, she found that Laurel had ordered a bunch of custom-made merchandise fit with the Stabcast logo, including a water bottle, a tee shirt, socks, a phone case, and stickers.

“Thank you Laurel, this is amazing!” Ava said as she turned to give Laurel a hug.

“Do you wanna go next?” Sara asked the small girl sitting on her lap.

Maeve nodded and hesitantly handed Ava the giftbag she was holding. Ava smiled at her daughter before taking it and opening the card. Maeve had also used fingerprints and paint, but instead of balloons, she had made bluebonnet flowers with green stems and wrote “Happy Birthday” at the top with backwards “p”s in the happy and a backwards “d” in the birthday. Inside, Sara wrote the message and Maeve signed the bottom in large print. Ava smiled at Maeve before reaching past the tissue paper to pull out the gift and was surprised to see as homemade candle that was colored yellow and smelled like lemon.

“Did you make this?” Ava asked.

Maeve nodded shyly in confirmation before quietly speaking, “Sara helped me. Do you like it?”

Ava smiled before looking reassuringly at Maeve, “I love it. Can I give you a hug?”

Maeve smiled before leaning in and Ava lightly wrapped her arms around her.

“And last but not least,” Sara said before handing Ava a card.

Ava smiled as she undid the envelop. Inside she found a card that was also homemade on light green cardstock. On the front of the card Sara had used fingerprints and white paint to create a dandelion. The top of the card wrote, “Happy Birthday Ava,” but at the bottom she wrote “I think you’re Dandy, and I’m not Lion.” Ava laughed out loud before looking at Sara.

Sara raised her hands in defense and confessed, “I was going to buy a card, but your children insisted I make one like they did.”

“Well I love it and you,” Ava smiled.

Ava opened the card and two tickets fell out. She picked them up to reveal that Sara had booked them a murder mystery dinner for the next Friday.

Ava looked eagerly at Sara, “You booked us an M-U-R-D-E-R mystery dinner?!?” spelling out the word “murder” so she didn’t have to explain it to Maeve and Ada.

“Yep, and I have the whole afternoon planned,” Sara smiled, clearly proud of herself.

Ava leaned over and placed a quick kiss to Sara’s lips and engulfed her in long a hug around both Ada and Maeve as to not make Maeve uncomfortable.

***

After the gifts, they had a lazy evening in Laurel’s living room. Eventually it started to get late and Ada was curled into Ava’s chest trying her hardest to keep her eyes open. Finally, Ava looked down at her and suggested, “How about we go put on some pajamas?”

Ada nodded and Ava stood, taking the small girl with her, and walked over to the bag Sara had packed. She shifted Ada so she was holding her with one arm and lifted out some warm pajamas as well as a toothbrush. She also grabbed Ada’s stuffed cat and playfully handed it to her, which Ada immediately cuddled to her chest.

When Ava returned with Ada, who was in fresh pajamas, and sat on the couch, Sara got up and grabbed Maeve and Eadlyn’s pajamas and toothbrushes as well and one by one they changed. When Maeve came out, Sara grabbed her clothes and handed her her stuffed bunny in exchange. Sara grabbed a book before bringing everyone back to the couch.

Sara sat next to Ava and Ada with Maeve on her lap and Eadlyn jumped in the seat next to her. She opened the book and started to read with the hope of putting at least Ada to sleep as she was clearly overtired and yet trying her best to stay awake like everybody else.

Quentin and Laurel smiled happily at Sara, loving to see her interact with her children. Sara read the book, making sure to do different voices for all the characters, and soon enough Ada had drifted to sleep in Ava’s lap and both Maeve and Eadlyn started to yawn.

“How about we start getting ready to leave?” Sara suggested looking down at Eadlyn and Maeve.

They both nodded and stood up. Sara packed the bag and grabbed the serving dishes, “I’m going to run these out to the car. I will be right back.”

Ava stood, carrying a sleeping Ada, “How about we say goodbye,” she whispered to Maeve and Eadlyn. Then, she leaned in for a hug from Quentin and Laurel.

By the time Sara came back inside, the goodbyes were finishing up and Sara joined in.

“Bye Laurel,” She said as she leaned in for a hug from her sister. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Laurel responded.

Sara leaned over to say goodbye to Quentin and when they finished, she turned towards the door.

“You ready to go?” Ava asked Sara.

Sara nodded and when she noticed Maeve was swaying from the tiredness, she knelt next to her, “Do you want me to carry you.”

Maeve nodded and put her arms out towards Sara who lifted her onto her hip. Maeve instinctively put her arms around Sara’s neck and her head on her shoulder.

Sara and Ava said goodbye to her family one last time before Sara grabbed Eadlyn’s hand and walking out the door, Ava following close behind with Ada.

***

By the time they arrived home, Ada was still asleep, and Maeve had fallen asleep while Eadlyn was struggling to keep her eyes open. Sara and Ava both opened the back doors of the car and carefully picked up Maeve and Ada as to not wake them. Eadlyn slipped out and followed her mom’s inside.

When they reached the top of the steps Ava turned to Eadlyn, “How about you head to your room and we’ll be right in, okay?

Eadlyn nodded and turned towards her bedroom door.

Ava carefully placed Ada in her bed and gently pulled the covers up to her chin. Sara did the same with Maeve, and then they both met in Eadlyn’s room.

Ava and Sara walked together in Eadlyn’s room. They both leaned down to give her a hug.

“Goodnight Eady, we love you,” they both said.

“I love you,” Eadlyn responded before rolling over and drifting off to sleep.

Sara and Ava walked out of her room closing the door behind them and headed to their room. They both changed into pajamas, removed their makeup, and brushed their teeth before climbing into bed.

“Thank you for everything you did for my birthday,” Ava said turning to kiss Sara.

“You’re welcome. Although we need to do something special for Maeve and Ada’s birthday’s”

“Well obviously,” Ava said confused why Sara was even bringing it up.

“No, I mean when I told them your birthday was coming up, Ada didn’t understand why we were celebrating.”

Ava looked over as Sara waiting for her to continue. Sara sighed and told the story.

***

_Sara picked up all three kids from school. Ava’s birthday was in a few weeks and she was working late today which meant today was a perfect day to help the girls with their gifts._

_“Okay, Ava’s birthday is in a few weeks, so we are gonna make her birthday gifts today.”_

_“I know what I want to make her,” Eadlyn spoke._

_Ada looked up at Sara clearly confused, “What’s a ‘birthday gifts’?”_

_“You don’t know what a birthday gift is?” Eadlyn asked Ada clearly surprised._

_Ada shook her head._

_Sara knelt in front of her daughter and explained, “Once a year on your birthday you get a party and cake and gifts.”_

_“You get a party and gifts?”_

_“Yep”_

_“Why?”_

_“Well it’s a celebration of you being born.”_

_“But why don’t I have a birthday?” Ada questioned still not understanding the concept._

_“You do, it’s July 18 th,” Sara responded._

_“But why don’t I have a party?”_

_Sara rested her hands on Ada’s shoulders, “This year, you are going to have the best party with your friends, and you’ll get cake and gifts and it will be so much fun.”_

_“Really?!?” Ada asked as her face lit up._

_“Yep and so is Maeve and Eadlyn.”_

_“So, do you know what you want to get Ava for her birthday?”_

_Ada scrunched her face in thought before her face lit up with an idea and she excitedly nodded yes in response._

_***_

_They spent the whole afternoon making cards and gifts for Ava. Sara bouncing back and forth between each child to help them when they needed it. She carefully supervised Eadlyn when she insisted that she put the clay in the oven to bake as opposed to her and she did a lot of the work when it came to dealing with the hot wax for the candle. Everyone finished and Sara hid the gifts so Ava wouldn’t find them._

_Sara, now curious if Maeve knew what a birthday party was when Ada clearly did not, went to go find her. She walked into her room and found her practicing braiding her dolls hair and smiled. She knocked on the slightly open door and, when Maeve smiled at her, she walked in._

_“Can I ask you something?” Sara asked, sitting on the bed next to her._

_Maeve nodded and looked up at her._

_“Do you know a birthday party is?”_

_Maeve nodded in confirmation, “Kids at school had them.”_

_“Did you go?” Sara wondered._

_Maeve shook her head in response._

_“Did you have a birthday party.”_

_Maeve shook her head again and looked back at her doll._

_“I meant what I said. You are going to have an awesome 7 th birthday!” Sara responded trying to cheer up her daughter after this conversation she felt bad for starting. _

_Maeve smiled at Sara and they both turned when they heard the front door open and Ava start talking to Eadlyn._

_“You wanna go say ‘Hi’ to Ava?”_

_Maeve nodded and they both hopped off the bed and headed downstairs._

***

Once Sara finished the story, Ava propped her head up on her hand and looked over at Sara. “She really didn’t know what a birthday was?”

“Really. But we are here and are going to give them good childhood memories.”

“Yeah, we are,” Ava smiled before leaning back and letting her head hit the pillow.

“Well, I think it’s time to lighten the mood,” Sara started. She rolled over on top of Ava, so she was straddling her hips and gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She smiled and cupped her cheek as she leaned down for a long soft kiss.

“Happy Birthday Captain Pantsuit,” Sara smiled against Ava’s lips before caressing her face and deepening the kiss.

***

It was the middle of the night, and Ava woke up and walked to the bathroom to grab a cup of water when she heard sniffling coming from down the hall.

“Sara,” she said, gently shaking her, “Someone’s crying.”

“Huh,” Sara responded in a daze when her eyes opened.

“Someone’s crying.”

They got up and followed the noise to Ada’s room down the hall. Ava gently pushed the door open and saw Ada curled in the corner of her bed with the blankets over her head.

Ava slowly walked in the room with Sara on her tail, “Ada, are you okay? It’s Sara and Ava.”

Ada slightly peeked her head out from underneath the blanket as Ava sat next to her on the bed, “Did you have a bad dream?”

Ada nodded, but didn’t move.

“Do you want to come sit with me?”

Ada contemplated for a moment before crawling out from underneath the blanket while clutching her stuffed cat against her chest. Ava put her arms out and the small girl climbed into her embrace and cuddled into Ava’s chest as she wrapped her arms around the small girl who was shaking with fear.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Ava asked as she rubbed Ada’s back in an attempt to calm her down.

Ada shook her head and curled deeper into Ava’s embrace, her tears staining Ava’s shirt.

Sara shuffled towards the small girl and used her thumb to wipe away her tears, “Hey, we’re right here and we aren’t going to let anything happen to you.”

Ava rocked back and forth while placing a kiss to the girl’s head and continuing to rub her back. Sara got up and grabbed a fuzzy blanket that she carefully draped over Ava and Ada. It took a while, but she eventually stopped crying.

Ava looked down at the little girl who was clinging to her, “You don’t have to talk, but if you do wanna talk about it later, you can always come find us, okay?”

Ada nodded and scrunched her face up in thought before changing the subject, “Did you really like it?”

Ava and Sara gave each other confused looks before Sara asked, “Like what?”

“The mug.”

“I loved it,” Ava confirmed, “why did you think I wouldn’t?”

Ada shrugged in response.

“I loved it so much, I’m going to use it tomorrow for coffee.”

“Really?”

“Yep,” Ava assured, and she leaned down so she was face to face with Ada. Then she started to shake her head side to side so their noses would touch in the middle each time she moved.

This caused Ada to throw her head back laughing, “You’re so silly mommy.”

Ava and Sara were both stunned into silence by Ada’s choice of words.

“Did… Did you just call me mommy?” Ava asked, still shocked and in need of confirmation that what she and Sara heard was true.

Ada’s eyes went wide in regret and embarrassment, “I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no. I’m not mad, I’m very happy.” Ava smiled pulling Ada closer and placing a kiss on her head.

“Really?”

“Yes. I love you Ada,” Ava smiled at her daughter. “how about you try and get some sleep because it’s really late.”

“Will you and Mama stay with me?” Ada asked quietly as she blushed with embarrassment.

“Do you wanna come and stay with us?” Sara offered.

Ada nodded and Ava stood up, taking Ada, and her stuffed cat, with her and the three of them walked into the master bedroom. They settled into the bed with Ada between them and she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

“She called us her moms,” Ava whispered as she looked over at Sara with a happy grin she was sure would never go away.

“I know,” Sara smiled, “I was not expecting that tonight. How was that for a birthday present?”

“I don’t think it’s still my birthday.”

“Yes it is,” Sara confirmed, showing Ava her watch that read 11:59pm.

Ava looked over at the alarm clock on her nightstand that read 2:32am. “Ummm,” was the response she had along with a confused face as she pointed at the clock and looked back at Sara.

“Okay fine, I changed the time on my watch so it was still your birthday, but in my defense it’s still the 26th in some parts on the world and we work on a time ship so we could figure something out. You have to admit that was a great birthday gift though.”

“The best,” Ava smiled at Sara before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I am going to try to update next Sunday, but who knows, it might not be until the Sunday after or even the Sunday after that. It all depends on how motivated I am to write (I know, it's not a very helpful time frame, I'm sorry). As always, comments are appreciated. I hope you are all doing well!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas is coming... in June and July and possibly August as well depending on how many chapters get dedicated to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kind of turned into a filler chapter that explains the Christmas traditions, with a little bit of family stuff. I don’t know what is going on but this chapter and last chapter were quite sad. On a positive note, I’ve started next chapter and it’s much more light- hearted.

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

It was Tuesday, December first and Eadlyn ran into the door of their house after Ava had picked her and her sisters up from school.

“It’s Christmas time, we have to get a tree!”

“We are when Mama gets home. How about you start your homework?”

“But mom.”

“Eadlyn, if you don’t do your homework now, we won’t have time to decorate the tree when we get home.”

“How about I don’t do my homework tonight?” Eadlyn offered smugly.

“Not an option,” She sternly replied, “Grab your backpack, I’ll help you with it.”

Eadlyn and Maeve grabbed their bags and sat at the table while Ava cut up some apple slices and peanut butter for a snack. Ada curled up in a chair at the kitchen table and quietly flipped through a book. Though she wasn’t quite old enough to read, she enjoyed the colorful pictures, and her mom’s would often find her making up stories to go along with the images.

Ava sat between Eadlyn and Maeve, placing the plate of apples and peanut butter in the center of the table. She went back and forth helping her daughters with their work. Once they finished, Ava placed the empty snack plate in the sink while the girls put their backpacks by the door.

Sara portalled into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around her wife, kissing her on the neck. When Eadlyn heard the sound of the portal, she ran towards Sara.

“Mama, can we go get the tree now?” she asked, jumping with excitement.

“Of course we can!”

Eadlyn beamed and ran to put on her shoes and jacket.

“Hi Mama,” Ada said running into the kitchen to hug Sara.

She lifted her youngest daughter and pulled her into a tight squeeze while peppering her face with kisses. Ada giggled and Sara put her down to greet Maeve.

“Hi baby, did you have fun at school?”

Maeve nodded and put her hand up to high five Sara. Though she was becoming more affectionate towards the time wives, she wasn’t one to want to hug all the time and some days she was cuddlier than others.

Sara graciously tapped her hand against Maeve’s, “You ready to get a Christmas tree?”

Maeve nodded and followed her sisters out the door. They loaded up into the car and Ava drove them towards the Christmas tree farm. 

“Okay, we are going to let the three of you decide on a tree, but it needs to be able to fit in the living room,” Ava explained when they walked up to the farm.

“We get to pick a tree!” Ada gasped.

“Yep.” Sara confirmed.

“We never got a tree before!”

“You’ve never had a Christmas tree.” Eadlyn added.

“Nope.”

Ava leaned down and wrapped her arms protectively around Ada, “How about you, Eady, and Maeve go pick out the best tree here.”

Ada’s face lit up and she excitedly led her sisters up and down the rows of trees, Sara and Ava walking hand in hand behind them. Ada’s eyebrows creased in focus as she examined every tree with her sisters.

Ada stopped in front of a medium size tree that would easily fit in their house. She pointed to the tree and bit her lip, insecure about her decision, waiting for her family to respond.

“That’s a great tree!” Eadlyn reassured, “It will hold lots of ornaments.”

The rest of the family nodded in agreement and the nervousness was lifted off Ada’s face.

Sara and Ava paid for the tree and everyone helped carry it to the car. They drove home and set up the tree in the living room before grabbing the boxes of ornaments and decorations.

Sara walked over and picked up Ada who was looking at the bare tree, “You picked a good one, baby.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The family opened the boxes and started decorating the house while they waited for the tree to settle. Sara and Ava were putting Christmas decorations in the kitchen when they saw Eadlyn and Ada talking in the other room.

“What’s the tree for,” Ada whispered, looking up at her sister.

“It’s a Christmas tree.”

“Yeah, but what does it do,” Ada scrunched her face in confusion.

“It’s where Santa puts all the gifts.”

“Who?”

“Santa? He lives in the North Pole and he watches you and if you are nice that year, you send him a list of gifts you want, and he has his elf’s make them. Then on Christmas Eve he puts all the gifts on his sleigh that is pulled by reindeer and delivers them by coming in through the chimney and he leaves them under the Christmas tree.” Eadlyn explained. Then she added, “What did you think the tree was for,” curious to hear her answer.

“In winter, trees don’t have leaves and it gets dark, so you bring a tree inside and put lights on it, so it isn’t dark, and you have a green tree.”

Sara and Ava looked at each other, upset that she had never experienced Christmas before, but clearly impressed at the thought she put into for the reasoning behind bringing a tree inside. At that, they walked into the living room.

“You ready to decorate the tree?” Sara asked.

“Yes!” Ada and Eadlyn cheered, and Maeve nodded her head in agreement.

They put the lights and garland on first and then Ava opened the boxes of ornaments. Sara and Ava let their daughters do most of the work when it came to putting the ornaments on the tree, though Ava was having a hard time not saying anything about how asymmetrical the ornament placement was, as one side of the tree had significantly more ornaments than the other. Sara grabbed her wife’s hand and rubbed her thumb across the back of it, trying to calm her. When the kids finished the bottom of the tree, Sara and Ava lifted them to fill some more spaces towards the top. When they were pleased with the tree, Sara took out the star.

“Do you wanna put the star on top,” Sara asked Ada.

She nodded frantically and skipped over to Sara who lifted the small girl onto her shoulders. Even on Sara’s shoulder’s, Ada still was not tall enough to reach the top of the tree.

“Here let me help,” Ava said, lifting Ada off of Sara’s shoulders and placing her on her own, “You don’t have the height, babe.”

“You’re not THAT much taller than me.”

Eadlyn covered her mouth and giggled at Sara’s frustration. Ava proudly smiled and stepped forward so Ada could reach. Once she placed the star, Ava plugged it into the lights so it would glow like the rest of the tree.

Eadlyn ran to turn off the lights and everyone stepped back to admire the glowing tree.

“It’s pretty,” Ada observed.

“It is,” Ava agreed.

Eadlyn turned the lights back on and walked up to Ava, “What’s for dinner?”

“I’m not sure, lets go see what we have.”

Ava made dinner with the help of Eadlyn, while Sara prepared school lunches for the next day with Maeve and Ada.

“Would you like oranges or cantaloupe for school tomorrow?” Sara asked holding up one of each.

“Can I have an apple instead?” Eadlyn replied, while helping Ava make a salad.

“Sure,” Sara said, grabbing an apple and placing it by her lunchbox.

Ada pointed to the oranges and Maeve to the cantaloupe which were also placed by their lunchboxes. She continued to let the kids pick what they wanted and soon enough, she had their lunches in the fridge for the next day and dinner was ready to eat.

***

That night, after all the kids were bathed and in pajamas, they gathered on the bed in the master bedroom.

“Okay,” Sara said while carrying a pile of wrapped objects over to her family. “Every year Ava and I wrap 24 books and movies for each night of December. Every night someone unwraps the one corresponding to the date and we either read the book or watch the movie together. So here is number one,” she explained and placed the wrapped item on the bed next to them.

“Then later this month, we all go to the bookstore to pick out books for each other. On Christmas Eve we get in pajamas, make hot Cocoa, gift them too each other, and read them by the fire. It’s called ‘The Christmas Book Flood,’ and Laurel and Quentin join us as well. They are also going to stay over so they are here on Christmas morning, and it is lots of fun” Sara finished explaining.

“Okay do you want to open it?” Ava asked.

All three girls nodded.

“How about Ada opens it tonight, and Maeve tomorrow, and then me the next night?” Eadlyn suggested.

“I think that is a great idea,” Sara responded, leaning over to hug her daughter.

Ada smiled enthusiastically and ripped the wrapping paper off to reveal a book. “Mama, can we read it?”

“Absolutely, we can!”

Ava lifted the covers and all five of them cuddled together so Sara could read the book. She sat mesmerized by her family as they all huddled together listening to Sara read.

When she finished, all three girls brushed their teeth and Maeve and Eadlyn walked into their respective bedrooms awaiting goodnights from Sara and Ava.

Sara and Ava walked with Ada into her room and over to her bed, where they wrapped her up in the covers with her stuffed cat.

“Did you have a good day?” Sara asked as she and Ava sat on her bed.

Ada nodded and looked down as though she wanted to ask a question.

Sara and Ava exchanged a look before Ava spoke up, “You know you can ask us anything, right?”

Ada took a deep breath and looked back up at her moms, “why did Santa never come visit me? Was it cause I was bad? Eady said he only visits nice kids.”

“No not at all,” the time wives quickly assured.

“Santa comes to houses with Christmas trees and you have to write him a Christmas list,” Sara explained, as she frantically tried to find a suitable explanation.

Ada just nodded and Sara hoped that her quick thinking had worked.

“This year, we have a tree and we are going to write Christmas lists, so I know Santa is going to visit, okay?” Ava assured.

“Okay,” she smiled.

“How about you get some sleep, and we will see you in the morning? Good night baby,” Ava said. She kissed her daughter on the forehead and stood up.

Sara wished her a good night as well and stood up.

“G’night mommy. G’night mama,” Ada responded, and rolled over to get comfortable.

They quietly closed the door behind them and walked over to Maeve’s room. They found her sitting in bed reading a book.

Even though the door was open, Sara lightly tapped on the doorframe before they walked in.

Maeve put her book down when she saw them and sat up to give them room to sit.

“Hey baby, did you have a good day,” Ava asked, as she and Sara sat on the bed next to Maeve.

She nodded and put the book down next to her.

“Are you excited for Christmas, Santa’s going to come, and you get time off of school,” Sara started.

Maeve scrunched her face and bit the inside of her cheek, unsure if she should say what she was thinking.

“You know you can tell us anything, right?” Ava repeated for the second time that night after both she and Sara had sensed Maeve’s indecisiveness on telling them what she had to say.

“I know Santa isn’t real,” Maeve whispered, looking down at her hands that were placed in her lap. If the room hadn’t been silent, Sara and Ava would not have heard her speak.

“Who told you that?” Sara asked, looking back and forth between Ava and Maeve.

Maeve didn’t look up or respond. She just sat with her legs crossed, still looking down at her hands.

“Was it someone at school? Or your dad? Or your mom?” Ava questioned, listing off possible people it could have been.

When Ava got to her mom as an option, Maeve lifted her head and uncomfortably nodded in confirmation, “She said she didn’t want to get us gifts.”

“Hey,” Sara replied softly while brushing a strand of hair behind Maeve’s ear, “This Christmas season is going to be so much fun. We are going to watch Christmas movies and make cookies and build gingerbread houses and spend lots of time as a family.”

“We want you to feel safe and loved,” Ava added.

Maeve nodded and looked down again, “May I go to sleep now?” she whispered.

Sara and Ava looked at each other with a slight concern about her going to sleep upset but caved into her request.

“Of course, baby. We love you, and you can talk to us anytime, okay,” Sara stressed.

Maeve nodded again before climbing under the covers and grabbing her stuffed bunny.

Sara and Ava bid her goodnight before leaving her room. They headed to Eadlyn’s room where they found her doing a puzzle at her desk. The door was open, and they walked in.

“Hi Eady,”

“Hi,” she responded without looking up from the puzzle.

She put a piece together before looking up at her moms with a questioning face, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” they both responded.

“Is Santa actually real because it doesn’t make sense? Everyone says he brings gifts for all the kids on the nice list, but Ada said she and Maeve never got any gifts. They’re nice and would have made it on the nice list, so why did Santa never bring them anything?”

Sara and Ava looked at each other, contemplating their response. Should they lie? Should they tell her the truth? After essentially having a telepathic conversation, they both turned back to Eadlyn.

“You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. Do you think he’s real?” Ava started.

“If he is, he’s not doing a very good job.”

Both Sara an Ava chuckled at that.

Eadlyn thought for a moment and sighed, “He’s not real, is he?”

“No, he’s not,” Sara confirmed.

Sara and Ava leaned over to hug Eadlyn who had grown visibly sad.

“I know it’s hard, but Santa is not what makes Christmas special. We have so many traditions, we get to spend time as a family, and we spend time with Aunt Laurel and grandpa; Christmas is still going to be so much fun.”

“And, you also get to become Santa with mom and I,” Sara added.

Eadlyn broke the embrace and looked at her mom’s.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Ada still believes in Santa, so, if you want, you get to help us pick out her gifts, wrap them, and put them under the tree,” Sara replied.

“So, you’re lying to Ada?”

“Think about all the Christmas mornings you had, waking up, running downstairs to see the Christmas tree, opening stockings and gifts, she never got that and we want her to have those experiences like you did,” Ava explained.

“Their parents were really mean, huh?”

“Yeah, they were,” Sara agreed, “But, they’re with us now and we aren’t going to let anything else bad happen to them.”

Eadlyn nodded, “Can I stay up to finish the puzzle?”

“Sure, baby, but don’t stay up too late,” both Sara and Ava agreed. They kissed their daughter goodnight and headed out of the room and towards their own.

They both got ready for bed and watched a TV show. When Sara got up to turn off the bedroom lights, she made sure Eadlyn had turned the lights off and gone to bed as well, before heading back to her wife.

“This was a rough night,” Sara said as she crawled into bed.

“Yah, it was.”

“How did two out of three kids figure out the Santa secret in one night?”

“I don’t know, babe, although Maeve already knew. I still can’t believe Eadlyn figured it out. When did she get so old? Time really does fly.”

“You’d think we of all people would understand that time makes no sense.”

Ava tilted her head in wonder, “Why did that line sound rehearsed?”

“Not the first time I’ve used it. I said it to Nate when he went to work for you at the bureau, actually.”

“Huh, it is true though. I mean, soon she’ll hit middle school and then high school, and then she’ll be an adult and-”

“Whoa, babe, stop, I’m barely making it through this.”

Ava smiled, “When did you get soft?”

“When I met you, Captain Pantsuit,” Sara smirked and kissed her wife.

Ava smiled against Sara’s lips, “No kidding.”

Sara rolled her eyes and then kissed her wife again before they went to sleep.

***

After school the next day, Eadlyn was doing her homework at the kitchen table with Sara and Ava. Maeve had already finished and was watching TV with Ada in the other room. Maeve seemed to be doing much better today after their conversation the night before which Sara and Ava were immensely grateful for.

Eadlyn started tapping her pencil against her notebook in thought before looking up at her mom’s. When they noticed she stopped working, they looked at her questioningly.

Eadlyn put the pencil down and leaned forward whispering, “You know how you said I could help you be Santa for Ada? Well, you’re her Santa, so can I be Santa for someone else?”

“like who?” Ava asked.

“Well, today at school, I was talking to my friend Peyton and her family can’t afford a lot at Christmas so I wanted to be her Santa and give her and her brother, Zac, a gift.” 

Sara and Ava smiled proudly at their daughter.

“I think that’s a great idea, but we need to talk to their parents to make sure it’s okay first. Do you know what you want to get them?” Ava explained.

Eadlyn creased her brow in thought, but ultimately shook her head in defeat, “Not yet.”

“Think about it and we will let you know what their parents say,” Sara said.

“Can we go this weekend to get gifts?” Eadlyn eagerly whispered.

“You and your sisters are spending the night with the Legends on the Waverider because mama and I have a date. We can pick a later weekend because we also have to get other gifts as well.”

“Okay,” Eadlyn responded and looked back down at her homework.

While Eadlyn finished her homework, Sara and Ava smiled at each other, in awe of the daughter that they are raising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn’t know, the Christmas Book Flood is apparently a legit thing in Iceland and I’ve always wanted to celebrate it, so it is getting written in this fic. I mean Avalance is in a book club, I feel like they would pass that down in some way to their children. I described it here and I will do a Christmas Eve chapter later with the family celebrating. 
> 
> I hope you all liked this chapter and the next one should be up in a few weeks!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Murder Mystery date night and the Legends Babysitting, what could go wrong?
> 
> I actually wrote this chapter before chapter 8. I was going to do christmas stuff after this but I realized the timeline didn't work (the date in this is December 4th per the Thanksgiving chapters) and I didn’t want to do the December 1st chapter as a flashback so it may seem a little out of place, but I hope you enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is romance? I sure as hell don’t know. It took me FOREVER to write this because I have never written romance nor have I been to a murder mystery dinner, but I will say it came out better than I thought it was going to. I decided to switch it up a bit and focused more on Sara and Ava as a couple and Eadlyn, instead of Maeve and Ada. It’s not so much Eadlyn’s personality, but it was really fun to write (That will make sense after you read it).

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

It was Friday afternoon and Sara stood up from the kitchen table, leaving her daughters coloring, when there was a knock at the front door. She opened it and let the Legends inside before greeting them.

“Hey boss, you look good,” Charlie greeted noticing Sara’s outfit. She rolled her eyes and led the Legends into the kitchen. Sara grabbed the bottle of whiskey out of her hand and dumped it down the sink and threw the bottle in the recycle bin.

“Hey,” Charlie protested, and Sara gave her a pointed look. She did the same with Mick’s beer causing him to protest as well.

“You’re not drinking while watching my kids.”

“Don’t worry,” Ray spoke up, “Nora, Zari, Nate, and I are here as well.”

“Yah, I know, that’s what I’m worried about.”

Eadlyn jumped up to greet the Legends and Ada followed close behind.

“You know all of you didn’t have to pick them up, we could have brought them to the Waverider.”

Zari just shrugged and released Ada from their embrace.

Sara turned as she heard footsteps behind her and saw Ava walking down the steps, ready for their date night. She was wearing a black and white patterned turtleneck sweater with black jeans and flats. He blond hair was in soft curls and she had done natural makeup.

Sara stared in awe at her wife before she found her voice again, “You look beautiful.”

Ava smiled, “so do you.”

Sara looked down at her own clothes. She had chosen a white shirt with black stripes, a black jacket, jeans, and white shoes. She had also done natural makeup with soft curls, but she had added an accent braid.

Sara tilted her head up and kissed her wife.

“Eewwww,” Eadlyn said pretending to barf and turning her head away from her mothers.

“You should really get a room, there are children here,” Zari responded while holding her hands over a giggling Ada’s eyes.

Sara pulled her lips away from Ava’s and turned to Zari to make sure she saw her eye roll.

“Okay, we are going to head out,” Sara said turning to Eadlyn and giving her a tight squeeze.

“Bye mama, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Eadlyn then leaned in to give her mom a hug.

“Bye, Eady. We’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Ada walked over to Sara next and jumped into her arms. Sara swung her around, making her laugh before pulling her into a hug.

“Bye mama,” Ada said as she wrapped her arms tightly around Sara’s neck.

“Bye Ada, I love you,” Sara responded, kissing her cheek, and putting Ada back on the floor.

Ava squatted down and Ada ran into her arms.

“By mommy.”

“I love you baby. We’ll see you in the morning.”

Ada nodded and started to walk away, disappearing into the living room behind Eadlyn.

Maeve shyly walked over and stood in front of a still squatting Ava.

“We’re going to see you tomorrow morning, okay? I love you.”

Maeve nodded and leaned forward to wrap her arms around Ava’s neck.

Ava let go and Maeve looked at Sara, who had knelt next to her, and reached out for a hug.

When Sara let go, Maeve shyly waved goodbye before following her sisters into the other room.

“You ready to head out?” Sara asked turning to her wife.

Ava turned to the Legends and placed a packed duffle bag in front of them as she spoke, “We already read the book from the Christmas countdown, so you don’t have to worry about that. Ada needs to be in bed by 7:30, Maeve by 8, and Eadlyn by 9. Don’t give them junk food, they’ve eaten candy every night for the past week. If you do, they won’t sleep. The duffle bag has pajamas for all three of them as well as a stuffed cat for Ada and bunny for Maeve, they won’t sleep without them so don’t forget it. Make sure they brush their teeth; toothbrushes are also in the bag. If you need anything, call us or Sara’s dad or sister.”

Ava continued to ramble on and then pointed her finger towards them, “I shouldn’t need to say this, but I’m going to anyways, no alcohol or drugs or weapons or time traveling under ANY conditions, got it.”

“Babe,” Sara cut her off, “They’ll be fine, let’s go.” Sara started to lead her wife towards the door and when she made it outside Sara turned to the Legends, who after all of Ava’s ramblings, looked slightly offended and confused by her accusations and clear uncertainty about their ability to watch the three kids.

“Just ignore that. All you need is Ada and Maeve in bed by 8 and Eadlyn by 9. And don’t do anything stupid.”

“What about dinner?” Ray asked.

“Just let Eadlyn use the fabricator. Ava has her trained so well she’ll pick something halfway decent anyways and Maeve and Ada will follow her lead.”

“Go,” Nora said, leading Sara out the door, “We will be fine. Enjoy your date.”

Nora closed the door behind them and called the girls back into the kitchen. Ray opened a portal onto the Waverider, and Nate grabbed the duffle bag Ava had packed.

With that, the three kids, and the Legends stepped onto the Waverider for the night. What could go wrong?

***

After walking out the front door, Sara met Ava at the car, climbed into the driver’s seat, and started to pull out of the driveway. Sara reached over and grabbed Ava’s hand, holding it while resting her elbow on the center console, as she drove into town. When they arrived, she parked in the parking garage a few blocks away from the restaurant.

She brought Ava’s hand up to her lips for a light kiss before smiling at her, “Hang on.”

Sara stepped out of the car and walked around the back and up to the passenger door. She opened it and reached her hand out for Ava to take. They both smiled and Ava reached out to take Sara’s hand and stood up from the car. Sara closed and locked the car door behind her.

They walked hand in hand out of the garage and Sara led Ava to a nearby walking trail on a lake. They had a little while before they had to be at dinner and the sun was still high above the lake causing the clear water to glisten. They walked hand in hand along the path running adjacent to the water.

“This is nice, we haven’t done this in so long,” Ava said, looking down smiling at her wife.

“I know. I love those kids, but I miss this.”

“Me too.”

***

When the Legends stepped onto the Waverider, Nate and Eadlyn dropped the bag off in Sara’s room. Eadlyn walked over to a basket in the back corner and picked up a few coloring books, markers, and crayons, and followed Nate into the lab where everyone else had gone.

Eadlyn sat at the desk, opened a book and started to color. Ada and Maeve joined her, and Zari and Behrad sat on the couch competitively playing video games. Everyone else left the room while they were distracted, undenounced to them, effectively leaving them in charge of all three children.

Zari was elbowing Behrad trying to get him to make a mistake while Behrad leaned over to cover Zari’s eyes while trying to beat her when Ada walked up behind them.

“What are you doing?” Ada asked, looking between the siblings and the screen.

Behrad turned and looked at the small girl, “Playing video games.”

“Hah!” Zari yelled.

Behrad turned back around and saw that he had lost when talked to Ada.

“That’s not fair, she distracted me! I want a rematch!”

“Nope, you lost.”

Behrad sighed, and Zari discretely put her arm out towards Ada to give her a fist bump.

“Can I play?” Ada asked.

“How about we play a different videogame?” Zari suggested. She stood up and walked towards the TV cabinet and pulled out Mariocart. She put the game into the Wii and sat back down on the couch. “Come sit,” she said patting the space next to her on the couch.

“you hold 2 to go and your hold the remote like a steering wheel to turn like this,” Zari demonstrated and handed Ada the controller.

Zari picked up her own remote and helped Ada through the entry screen, allowing her to pick her character and vehicle.

The game started and both players took off. Ada had trouble starting and ended up driving down the track the wrong way. Zari stopped to help her turn around and she still came in first. Behrad came in second, mad Zari beat him again.

They played a couple more rounds and Ada got better and better, eventually getting up to 10th place instead of last.

They were about to play another round when Zari heard a growling noise coming from Ada’s stomach.

“How about we get some food?” Zari suggested.

Ada nodded and rounded up both of her sisters for dinner.

***

Sara and Ava continued to walk along the water until Sara spotted a bench up ahead. She gently led Ava towards it and they both sat down. Ava leaned into Sara and rested her head on her shoulder. Sara rested her head on Ava’s and picked up Ava’s hand. She rubbed her thumb over the top of Ava’s hand while they sat in silence watching the sun start to set, causing the water on the lake to glisten.

Soon enough, Ava’s breathing became steady and she had fallen asleep on Sara’s shoulder. Sara smiled and gently tucked a strand of Ava’s hair behind her ear that had fallen in front of her face. She pulled Ava close and listened to the sound of her breathing as she watched the sky slowly fill with pastels.

Sara didn’t want Ava to miss the sunset and gently woke her wife by placing light kisses on her nose and softly running her fingers through her hair.

Ava smiled before slowly lifting her head off Sara’s shoulder and opening her eyes. She was a little drowsy at first, but when she realized where she was, she looked apologetically at Sara, “I’m sorry I fell asleep on you, literally. I know we are supposed to be on a date.”

“Don’t worry, Babe,” Sara said, caressing her face, “Everybody needs a twenty- minute power nap and I got to stare longingly at my beautiful wife.” Then Sara smirked, “Besides, I need you awake for tonight when we have the house to ourselves.” 

Ava immediately blushed and looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear what Sara had said. When she noticed no one around them, she replied with a grin, “Don’t worry, I will be.”

Sara laughed and started to stand, “Come on, we should walk towards the water.”

Sara reached her hand out towards Ava who smiled before grabbing it and standing. They headed towards the lake, walking hand in hand, with Ava leaning into Sara.

When they reached the thin layer of sand surrounding the water, they both leaned down to take off their shoes and Sara grabbed a flat rock. She smiled at Ava, let go of her hand, and walked to the edge of the water.

Sara tossed the rock up and caught it a few times before flicking her wrist and causing it to skid across the lake.

“What are you doing?” Ava questioned walking up behind Sara and wrapping her arms around her waist.

“Skipping rocks on the lake,” Sara bent down and picked up another rock, “Let me show you.”

She handed Ava the rock and turned her, so she was facing the ocean. Sara stood and helped her flick the rock into the lake. It skipped once and fell into the water.

“How did you get it to skip so many times?”

“Practice,” Sara responded picking up another rock and handing it to her wife. “Laurel and I used to do this all the time.” She helped Ava again and soon enough they were both laughing and skipping rocks as the sun was setting around them.

Eventually the sky had darkened, and Sara reached out for Ava’s hand, which she gladly took.

“We better start heading to the restaurant,” Sara said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss her wife.

Ava smiled and they put their shoes back on before walking with their arms wrapped around each other towards the restaurant.

***

Eadlyn headed to the fabricator and had Gideon prepare them chicken nuggets and ants on a log for herself and both of her sisters. Nora and Ray helped her carry the plates back to the table.

“Can we play Mariocart again?” Ada asked, looking up from her plate.

“Sure,” Zari responded.

“Can I play?” Eadlyn added.

“I’m also in,” Nate piped up.

“I’m going to beat you all,” Lita added, who had joined them for dinner.

Soon enough everyone at the table but Mick and John were on board.

“Will you play with us?” Ada questioned looking between Mick and John.

Both were tempted to say ‘no,’ but sighed when they saw how excited she was to play and they both caved.

They spent the rest of the night playing in a Mariocart tournament. They got so into it that Nate even pulled out a white board and created game brackets to keep track of the winners and losers. Gary and Mick both lost very early on, but Mick came back into the lab and sat in a chair with his beer leading people to believe he lost on purpose so that he could drink. Soon enough the only competitors left were Zari, Behrad, Lita, and Eadlyn. When the final race began, all the Legends were yelling and placing bets on who they thought the winner was going to be.

When the final scores were in Zari won, with Behrad in second, Eadlyn in third, and Lita in fourth. 

Nora looked at the time and realized it was eight o’clock, “Alright, how about we get Maeve and Ada ready for bed.”

Maeve and Ada stood up and Nora, Ray, Nate, and Zari followed them into Sara’s room. They changed into their pajamas, brushed their teeth, grabbed their stuffed animals, and crawled into bed. The Legends quietly left the room and shut the lights.

“This is going really well,” Nate said looking at the crew as they walked back towards the lab, though, he had spoken a bit too soon.

***

They arrived at the restaurant and Sara held the door open for Ava so she could walk through. Sara headed to the front and handed the man their tickets and he showed them to their table.

They sat down and Ava looked at Sara smiling.

“I know, you’re excited.”

Ava smiled even wider and proceeded to go on a tell Sara just how excited she was at the prospect of dinner and murder mysteries in one.

Sara smiled contently at her wife who was all but fangirling over the event that was to start shortly.

The lights dimmed and the room quieted down for the show to start. Sara and Ava sat next to each other, holding their hands underneath the table and Sara was running her thumb across the top of Ava’s hand.

When the show reached a break, food was delivered to the tables, and the room grew loud with conversation.

“I think it was the hairdresser,” Sara stated, “All that pent-up frustration, they treated him like a doormat.”

“I think it was the rich lady getting her hair done,” Ava countered.

Ava then proceeded to compare the play to all the real serial killers she had done research on over the years.

Sara started longingly at her wife as she went on and on about her serial killer obsession.

When the show continued, Sara had stopped paying attention and just watched her wife and beamed at how excited she was to discover the killer.

When the show stopped again, the dessert was being brought out and Ava confronted Sara, “Were you even watching the show?”

“I was watching you,” Sara smirked.

Ava rolled her eyes in response and dug into the chocolate lava cake sitting in front of her.

“I actually got something for you,” Sara said reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a rock and Ava tilted her head in confusion.

“When we were skipping rocks earlier, I saw this and noticed it looked exactly like your eye’s, so I kept it,” she elaborated.

Sara held the rock up to Ava’s face and took a picture to show her; it was a perfect match.

Ava looked at the picture and back at her wife, “You knew what my eyes looked like off the top of your head?”

“Of course,” Sara responded, shocked at the question.

“You’re such a softie.”

This time, it was Sara’s turn to roll her eyes.

Ava leaned into Sara for a hug and whispered in her ear, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Sara responded.

***

As some of the Legends were putting Maeve and Ada to bed, Eadlyn was left to wander the ship. When she came across the library, she found a box sitting on the table labeled ‘John’ and proceeded to look inside of it. She noticed what she thought was candy and proceeded to eat a piece, though the food tasted so bad she ran to the kitchen to grab a drink. The next thing she knew, she was surged with so much energy she started racing in circles around the ship.

She kept sprinting in circles and yelling until she ran into Ray, who had just left Sara’s room with Nate, Nora, and Zari, and fell backwards on the ground.

“What’s gotten into you Little Lance?” Nate questioned.

Zari grabbed her hand to help her stand back up and noticed her hands were shaking. “Umm are you okay?”

“I’m as fast as a cheetah and I’m going to rule the world! You’ll never catch me!” Eadlyn yelled as she jumped up and took off again, sprinting down the hall.

“What is going on,” Nora asked, and the other three Legends shrugged their shoulders.

They found the rest of the Legends in the galley and they started questioning Eadlyn’s actions as well.

They were all talking over each other until Charlie spoke up, “Hey! Who knows what is going on with her?”

They all shrugged and heard a child’s footsteps and giggling in the distance.

“Gideon,” Mick started, “What’s up with the kid.”

“It seems she has gotten into John’s box in the library,” Gideon responded and proceeded to show them the footage.

“It seems she ate the eyeball of an eight fingered toad,” John concluded after watching the footage.

“I’m sorry, she ate what?!?” Zari questioned disgustedly.

“An eyeball from an eight fingered toad,” John repeated as though it was common sense.

“Gross,” Ray muttered.

“Well they look like gumdrops so, she probably thought they were candy,” Nate said after replaying the video.

“What do we do?” Nora spoke.

“It’ll wear off,” John responded.

“In how long,” Charlie asked.

“Two days, maybe three,” John answered.

“Sara is going to kill us,” Gary said worriedly, while all the Legends groaned in defeat.

“We’ve got to catch her and figure out another way to calm her down,” Behrad spoke.

They all agreed and decided to corner Eadlyn in the lab so they could contain her, and John headed to the library to see what he could do. The Legends split up and when they found her, they realized she had gotten into the food fabricator because she had melted chocolate covering her face, her shirt was soaked with soda, her hair was a matted mess, and her eyes were wide with energy from a combination of too much sugar and the eaten eyeballs.

“I’m gonna fly to Jupiter!” She yelled and tried to take off again.

When she tried to run past them, Mick grabbed her and carried her over his shoulder into the lab, trapping her in their containment cell where she proceeded to continuously run into the force field walls, laughing every time she stumbled or fell backwards.

“We can’t lock Sara and Ava’s kid in a containment cell,” Ray argued.

“We are in so much trouble,” Zari muttered.

“You probably should not have left her alone to wander a time ship,” Lita concluded.

“You think?!?” All the Legends responded.

John came walking into the lab with a book and pointed to the open page, “If I hypnotize her to sleep, I think I can drain the magic out of her system.”

“Do it,” Nora agreed.

“Ummm are you sure we should do this, Sara and Ava were very clear,” Gary started.

“They said nothing about magic,” Charlie responded.

John headed towards the containment cell which still held a wild Eadlyn and spoke loudly in Latin incantations. The child fell to the floor and her breathing steadied and Zari took down the force field.

When John finished, Nate looked at him, “Did it work?”

“We’ll find out when she wakes up in the morning.”

“It technically is morning,” Behrad said pointing to the clock that read 12:25am.

“Well, we can’t put her in Sara’s bed covered in chocolate and soda, so we need to get her in pajamas somehow,” Ray said.

Nora turned to Mick who was still drinking his beer, “Can you carry her into the bathroom?”

He nodded and grabbed the small girl and headed out of the lab.

Nora conned Zari into helping her and they both went into the bathroom to put the girl in a clean shirt, washed her face, and removed her shoes. They had Mick carry her into Sara’s room and he laid her next to her sisters and they all silently left the room.

Then every Legends collapsed into their bed, exhausted after a long day.

***

“I told you it was the rich lady,” Ava smirked at Sara when the show was over.

“You were right, babe,” Sara responded.

“Thank you so much for a wonderful night.”  
  


Sara smirked, ‘The night isn’t over.”

They walked out of the restaurant and towards the car, where Sara opened the passenger door and Ava climbed in.

When they arrived home, Sara unlocked the door, and as soon as she shut it behind her, Ava turned and brought her lips to her wife’s.

She passionately kissed her wife and cupped her face. Sara led them towards the stairs and up to their room. They walked up the stairs and towards their room and fell onto their bed deepening their kiss.

Sara’s hand lingered at the hem of Ava’s shirt, “There are no kids here tonight, so what do you want to do now, Captain Pantsuit.”

“I think you know, Captain Lance,” Ava responded, reaching out and lifting Sara’s shirt over her head and tossing it on the floor.

***

The next morning, Sara and Ava rolled out of bed and showered before heading to the Waverider to pick up their kids.

When they arrived, they met Charlie first.

“How was last night?” Ava asked her.

“Good,” She responded before sarcastically looking at the couple and quipped, “Did you use protection.”

Shut up, Charlie,” Sara replied, rolling her eyes, and playfully whacking her arm.

“Huh?”

The three of them turned and hadn’t realized that Ada had walked up behind them.

“Protection from the sun,” Ava panicked, “We were outside and didn’t want to get a sunburn.”

Ada just nodded and jumped into her mom’s arms, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. Did you have fun?”

“Yep!”

Maeve and Eadlyn, as well as the rest of the Legends, walked up to Sara and Ava. The kids greeted their moms and Sara turned to all the Legends.

“How did it go last night?”

They gave a chorus of “good” and “had fun” hoping no one would slip about Eadlyn, who had woken up fine that morning.

Sara’s gaze lingered as they spoke, “Uhhh huh.”

“We are going to head home,” Ava add in, “Thank you for last night,”

The Legends all spoke again with a chorus of “you’re welcome” and “no problem.”

When the family stepped through the portal and back into their house, all the Legends released the breath they were holding, hoping that the co-captains would never find out about what happened with Eadlyn. What they didn’t know, was Gideon had already told them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also totally stole the rock skipping idea from the Taylor Swift song "starlight" because that’s what I was listening to while planning this. The date night looks are based off of Jes at the Flash 100th episode party and Caity at one of the Heroes and Villains Fanfest’s. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! It was different from the rest, but it was fun and challenging to write.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the first snow of the year. 
> 
> Sorry for the late update! I started this chapter with the full intention of it being happy family time, but that is not where it went, AT ALL. This chapter took a turn while I was writing it, honestly, not so much a turn, but more like a 180 into a deep abyss of confused emotions and triggering events (I don’t know what to say, I’ve been in a weird mood and it showed in this chapter). Then, after I wrote it, I couldn't bring myself to post it because of the content and even considered re-writing the whole thing. Then before I knew it, it was over a month since I posted Chapter 9.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ: This chapter has a very long list of trigger warnings and I took down the message I had saying no graphic descriptions of violence and added the archive warning! I put a brief summary in the endnotes in case you don't want to read this chapter, but do want to keep up with the story. 
> 
> P.S I couldn’t think of a time off the top of my head that Sara was on a boat after the Gambit and the Amazo (I could have just forgotten) so for the purpose of this story, she hasn’t been on one.

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

It was early Sunday morning, just two days after her date, and Sara was standing in the kitchen, still half asleep, pouring water into the coffee machine.

“Mama,” Ada yelled as she ran into the kitchen towards Sara.

She looked down at her daughter, who she was going to ask to lower her voice as people were still sleeping but noticed there were tears in her eyes and her body was shaking.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

“What happened?” She worriedly grabbed onto Sara’s leg, and pointed towards the window.

Sara had been so tired that she hadn’t noticed it was snowing for the first time this winter. She leaned down and gently lifted Ada into her arms.

“It’s snow,” Sara explained, “Do you wanna see it?”

Ada looked wearily at her mother.

“I promise it’s fun, I used to play in the snow all the time with aunt Laurel. We would have snowball fights, and go sledding, and make snow angels, and build snowmen.”

“Okay,” Ada whispered, and Sara slipped on her fuzzy pink slippers before carrying Ada out the front door and onto the covered porch.

She scooped a handful of snow off the railing and held it out in front of her daughter.

Ada cautiously reached out to grab the snow in Sara’s hand and pulled back when she realized how cold it was.

“It’s cold, huh?”

Sara formed a fist around the handful of snow to form a snowball and threw it into the yard causing Ada to giggle.

“Do you wanna try?”

Ada nodded and grabbed a handful of snow off the railing and used both hands to form a snowball. She lifted her arm and threw it as hard as she could into the yard.

They stayed on the deck, Sara holding Ada and showing her the falling snowflakes, until Ada’s cheeks had turned red from the winter chill.

“How about we go inside, and you can help me make some breakfast and then we can get you a warm coat and gloves and we can come back out to play?” Sara suggested when she felt how cold Ada’s hands and face were getting.

Sara carried Ada back inside and slid off her slippers by the door, closing it behind her. They walked back into the kitchen where they found Ava had finished making coffee.

“Good morning, baby. What were you doing?”

Sara placed Ada on the counter and walked over to kiss her wife, who handed her a mug filled with coffee, “Good morning, I was showing Ada what snow looked like.”

Ada looked at her mom and nodded in confirmation., “And mama showed me how to make a snowball!”

“Really? That must have been fun!”

“She said we can play in the snow today!”

“Of course we can play in the snow today,” Ava assured, tickling her youngest daughter, “And we can make hot cocoa later!”

Ada’s face lit up with excitement. 

Ava grabbed the ingredients for pancakes while Sara grabbed the bacon and fruit. Ada was helping make the pancake mix when Eadlyn and Maeve walked into the kitchen.

“We good morning sleepy heads,” Sara greeted.

“Morning mama,” Eadlyn yawned, giving Sara a hug. She walked over to the counter where Ada was mixing the pancake batter to hold the bowl so she could mix with both hands. 

Maeve hoisted herself onto the barstool at the counter and watched Ava pour the pancake mix onto the griddle after Ada finished mixing.

“Morning Maeve, did you sleep well?” Ava questioned while waiting for the pancakes to cook.

She nodded and sat in the chair staring inquisitively out the window. 

“Have you seen snow before,” Sara asked, taking a seat next to Maeve.

She shook her head and continued to stare at the falling snowflakes.

“Do you wanna go outside and see the snow after breakfast? We can even make snow ice cream.”

Maeve looked worriedly at Sara, unsure if she should.

“Maeve it’s fun,” Ada added in.

Maeve looked happily at her little sister and turned back to Sara, nodding in agreement.

***

The family finished breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, and Sara and Ava helped their children bundle up in winter clothes before grabbing their own jackets and gloves.

They stepped outside and into the front yard, Sara and Ava watching closely to see what Maeve and Ada’s reactions would be.

Ada was excited to be back outside, and Maeve seemed fascinated by the concept of being in the snow as she had never experienced it before.

“Do you wanna make a snow angel?” Sara asked. She walked over to a patch of untouched snow and fell backwards to avoid any footprints. She moved her arms and legs to form an angel and jumped back up to show her daughters.

Ada nodded and tried it herself, dramatically flopping backwards into the snow. Maeve watched her sister before following foot and laying in the snow next to her.

Sara and Ava were so busy watching their youngest daughters, they didn’t notice that Eadlyn had formed a snowball. She threw it as hard as she could, hitting Sara in the back.

“Ohhhh, I’m gonna get you,” she laughed and playfully threw a snowball at her eldest daughter, who had taken off running towards the side of the house.

Ava leaned down and grabbed a handful of snow to form a snowball. She handed it to Ada and whispered in her ear, “Go get Eady.”

Ada smiled widely and took off as fast as she could in the snow trying to catch her oldest sister. Eady was distracted while trying to hide from Sara and didn’t realize Ada was carrying a snowball. Ada threw it and hit her in the head while she was kneeling to grab another handful of snow. Eadlyn looked up surprised and Ada fell back into the snow giggling.

Maeve was watching the rest of her family in the snowball fight and had formed a snowball herself but was too nervous to actually throw it at anyone. She didn’t want to hit her little sister, and she wasn’t sure if she should start throwing things at Sara, Ava, and Eadlyn. She had never been in a family where throwing snow at them wasn’t going to cause her pain. She was confused and she sat apprehensively on the front porch steps, unsure of what to do. She was frozen and all she could think about was her birth parents and everything she had been through.

Sara sensed Maeve’s anxiety and fear and left the rest of the family in the yard to make her way over to the front steps. They sat in silence for a moment without Maeve acknowledging that Sara had taken a seat beside her.

Sara slowly inched towards Maeve to avoid startling her, “Hey Maeve-y, I’m right here.”

Maeve didn’t respond. Instead she just stared out at her family who were laughing and playing. She was confused by her emotions. She figured if everyone else was having fun, she should be having fun too, right? Instead, she was jealous and almost angry of how happy they were.

“It’s okay to get scared,” Sara began, trying to get through to her daughter “Can I tell you a secret?”

Maeve looked towards Sara, finally acknowledging her, and slowly nodded her head.

“I get scared sometimes too, but then, I look around and I see you and Ava and Eadlyn and Ada and I find a reason to be happy. When bad things happen, fear can sneak up on you at times you wouldn’t expect. As you get older, you will find ways to help you cope. Just know that Ava and I love you and are here for you no matter what.”

Sara noticed a shift in Maeve behavior. She was physically shrinking herself and her lip started to tremble. Sara didn’t move out of worry that it would startle Maeve who was beginning to crack. Tears started streaming down her face and she hugged her knees to her chest and cried into the snow pants she was wearing. She dropped the snowball she was holding and watched it crash onto the snow- covered walkway.

She leaned into Sara and rested her head on her lap, still in a fetal position. She continued to cry silent tears while Sara gently rubbed her arm.

Eventually, the rest of the family walked towards the porch to see what Sara and Maeve were doing. Ava saw them first and when she noticed how distressed Maeve was, she ushered Ada and Eadlyn back to the side of the house.

“How about you teach Ada how to make a snowman?” Ava suggested frantically.

Ada nodded excitedly.

“Okay,” Eadlyn said leading Ada to an open patch of snow, “We can make an army of snow people so we can rule over the arctic.”

“Would we see the polar bears?” Ada asked her sister.

Ava chuckled and snuck over to the front steps so the other kids wouldn’t notice and sat on the other side of Maeve. She gently placed her hand on Maeve’s arm and looked questioningly at Sara.

Sara looked back at her and shrugged because she was still unaware of what had triggered Maeve and caused her all this pain.

“How about we go inside,” Sara suggested.

Maeve didn’t respond and continued to blankly stare into the distance. Ava looked at Sara with a concerned face before Sara spoke again.

“I’m gonna pick you up, Maeve-y,” Sara said softly. She gently pulled Maeve into her arms and stood up. Ava opened the door allowing Sara to walk through. Sara stood inside the door while Ava gently removed Maeve’s boots, snow pants, jacket, hat, and gloves, leaving them on the heater to dry. Ava untied Sara’s boots and she carefully took them off her feet.

“Hey, I’m going to go back outside to watch them,” Ava said, gesturing towards their other kids out the window, “Let me know if you need anything.”

Sara nodded and looked back and Maeve, “How about we get some comfortable clothes.”

Maeve still didn’t respond. Sara brought her upstairs anyways and helped her change into leggings, a sweater, and fuzzy socks. She grabbed Maeve’s favorite book and sat down in the chair in the corner. Maeve curled into her chest and Sara started to read. She used all sorts of hand gestures, voices, and accents trying to cheer her up, but nothing worked.

When Sara finished, she was about to put the book down when Maeve reached out and opened it back to the first page.

Sara smiled and read the book again at Maeve’s request. When she finished re-reading the book, she put it down and noticed Ava standing in the doorway. She walked over to them and tenderly placed her hand on Maeve’s leg.

“We’re going to make some snow ice cream do you want to come outside and help?”

Maeve shook her head and curled even deeper into Sara’s embrace.

Ava got up and grabbed the vanilla, sweetened condensed milk, a large bowl, and a spoon before heading back outside to Eadlyn and Ada.

“Mommy, where’s Maeve?” Ada looked up with a clear concern that her sister had gone missing.

“Maeve doesn’t feel good right now. How about we make the ice cream and then you can go inside and give her a bowl of it.”

Ada nodded and they all started to gather snow and place it in the bowl. Ava let the kids add all the ingredients and mix it together. They walked inside and Ava helped them remove all their snow stuff before grabbing bowls and spoons in the kitchen. She noticed that Sara had moved Maeve to the living room and when Sara saw them, she picked up Maeve and brought her over to the kitchen table. She sat in a chair, with Maeve on her lap, and Ada handed her sister a bowl of ice cream.

Maeve smiled at her sister and both Sara and Ava were both relieved that Ada seemed to be making her feel better. She snuggled into Sara, facing Ada, who sat in the chair next to them, and slowly ate scoops of her ice cream. When Ada realized Maeve wasn’t going to talk, she just told her about her day in the snow while eating her ice cream.

When they finished, Eadlyn and Ada brought their bowls to the sink. Ava went to grab the bowl Maeve had placed on the table in front of her and noticed she hadn’t even eaten half the ice cream. She placed it in the sink without saying anything and headed back to the table.

“How about we open the advent calendar now, so we aren’t rushing tonight,” Ava suggested.

Eadlyn and Ada nodded. Ava pulled out the wrapped activity and look at Maeve “It’s your turn to open it, do you want to?”

Maeve shook her head and looked down at her hands. Ava turned to Eadlyn, “How about you open it today and then Maeve can do tomorrow.”

Eadlyn nodded and took the package from Ava. She opened it to reveal the movie “Elf” and handed it back to Ava, “Are we going to watch it now?”

“Yeah. Do you want to help me make some popcorn and hot cocoa?”

Eadlyn and Ada both hopped up from the kitchen table to help with the snacks and Sara grabbed the movie and set it up in the DVD player while still holding Maeve.

When everything was set, they all huddled together on the couch.

“Hey,” Sara said softly to Maeve, “Is it okay if you sit with Ava for a minute?”

She looked up at Sara, terrified that she was leaving her.

“I’ll be right back, I promise.”

Sara carefully lifted Maeve into Ava’s arms and headed towards the bathroom. Ada sat down next to them. Maeve’s legs were across Ada’s who leaned down to rest her head in her older sister’s lap. Ava had one arm around Maeve and the other was pulling Ada into her side. Eadlyn sat on the couch after placing the bowl of popcorn next to the hot cocoa on the coffee table and rested her head on Ava’s shoulder.

When Sara returned, she hit the play button on the DVD player and sat next to Eadlyn, draping her arms around her.

By the time the movie ended, the empty popcorn bowl was on the floor and the sun had started to set for the night.

“Did you like the movie?” Sara asked.

“Yes!” Ada responded loudly.

“Shhhh,” Ava hummed while lifting a single finger to cover her mouth, “You’ve got to be quiet; Maeve is asleep.” Ava looked down at Maeve who had fallen asleep during the movie. It was to be expected as she had an emotionally draining day, though she and Sara still didn’t know the whole story as they could not get any information out of her.

Ada nodded, “Sorry mommy.”

“It’s okay, baby,” she responded and leaned down to kiss the top of her head, “How about you and Eady wash your hands so you can help with dinner?”

They both nodded and headed towards the bathroom down the hall.

“I’ll cook dinner,” Sara said after Ada and Eadlyn disappeared down the hall, “You take Maeve upstairs.”

“She has to be tired. Do you know what happened?”

Sara shook her head, “After Eady hit me with the snowball, I noticed that she hadn’t moved. She made a snowball but looked sad and confused and then sat on the porch steps. When I walked over to her, she didn’t even acknowledge me and hasn’t spoken since.”

Aa looked down sadly at the child in her arms, “Sometimes I wish we could use the Waverider to go back and adopt them when they were younger, so they didn’t have to suffer.”

“I know, babe, but you know we can’t mess with time like that.”

“I know, I just hate seeing her hurt this bad. I just want to take away all the bad memories she and Ada have.”

Sara looked sympathetically at Ava but before she could respond, Ada ran back into the room and jumped into her arms, Eadlyn on her tail.

“Ready to help with dinner?” Sara whispered.

Ada nodded and followed Sara into the kitchen.

Ava stood from the couch and gently carried Maeve up the stairs, careful not to wake her. She debated placing Maeve in her own bed before deciding she didn’t want her to be alone and walked into the master bedroom. She carefully placed her on the bed and crawled in next to her protectively wrapping an arm around her.

***

When dinner was finished, Sara ventured upstairs to gather Ava and Maeve. When she walked into the bedroom she smiled at the sight. Ava was lying in the bed reading a book about serial killers with her hand on Maeve’s back, who was sprawled out across Ava’s chest. Ava had taken the braids out of Maeve’s blond hair giving it soft waves that were falling over her shoulder. She was still asleep, and her back was moving up and down due to her steady breathing.

“Well this brings back memories,” Sara grinned and sat down on the bed.

“Huh?”

“Right after Eadlyn was born I would always find you and her like this.”

Ava smiled at the memory and looked down at Maeve.

“Dinner is ready. Should we wake her up or let her sleep? She hasn’t had anything to eat other than breakfast and a little bit of snow.”

“She’s had an emotionally draining day; I think we should let her sleep and if she wakes up later, we can make her something quick.”

Sara nodded, “I assume that means you’re not coming down?”

“I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“I will eat with the others and bring you up some food after, okay?”

Ava nodded and Sara leaned down to kiss her wife before heading downstairs. Ava picked up her book and rested her hand Maeve’s back while she continued to read.

***

Ava was lost in her book and didn’t realize how late it was getting until her stomach started growling. As if on cue, Sara strolled in holding a plate full of food.

She placed the plate on the nightstand and climbed into bed next to her wife. Ava sat up slightly, careful not to disturb Maeve, so she could eat her dinner. She ate and talked with Sara and when she was finished, Sara brought the plate back downstairs.

When she returned, she changed into her pajamas and sat next to her wife again.

“How are Eadlyn and Ada doing?”

Sara rested her head on Ava’s shoulder and started to run her hands through Maeve’s blond hair, “Good, Ada is in her room playing and Eadlyn is reading a book. They asked about Maeve at dinner and I told them she didn’t feel well and was upstairs with you.”

Ava nodded and looked down lovingly at the sleeping child on top of her, “I think she should stay home from school tomorrow.”

Sara nodded in agreement. She was going to speak but stopped in her tracks when Maeve started to stir. She slowly lifted her head off Ava’s chest and used her hand to move her hair, that had fallen in front of her face, behind her ear.

“Hey Maeve,” Ava softly greeted, “Did you have a good nap?”

She looked between her mother’s momentarily confused, before resting her eyes on Ava and nodding. Ava sat up and Maeve didn’t move from her lap.

“Are you hungry? I can get you some dinner.”

Maeve shook her head and brought her knees to her chest and started playing with the seams of her socks.

Sara looked worriedly at Ava, “I’m going to go make you a sandwich in case you change your mind.”

Sara made a sandwich as fast as possible and all but sprinted back into the room. She sat back on the bed and held a plate containing a half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of Maeve. She looked up at Sara, clearly not wanting to eat anything.

“Baby, I know you aren’t hungry, but you’ll feel a lot better if you eat something,” Ava explained.

When she still didn’t move, Sara led by example, “You don’t have to eat the whole thing,” she took a piece of the crust and ate it herself, “you just have to eat a few bites.”

Maeve finally gave in and nibbled on the corner of the sandwich. She handed it to Sara, who ripped off another crust piece and ate it before handing it back to Maeve. They did this a few more times, and when the half sandwich was mostly gone and Maeve refused to eat any more, Sara put the plate on the nightstand.

Before anyone had a chance to speak, they all heard little footsteps running down the hall. Ada stopped shyly in entryway of the bedroom, “Mommy?”

“Come in sweetheart.”

Ada smiled and jumped up onto the bed. She sat by Maeve and looked up questioningly at her, “Are you okay?”

Maeve put on a brave face and wrapped her arm around Ada’s shoulder, “Yeah.”

The time wives looked at their middle daughter with a slight shock. They knew she would do just about anything for her little sister but getting her to speak after a day like today was unexpected.

“Good,” Ada beamed, relieved at her sister’s response.

“It’s getting late, baby, are you ready for bed,” Sara asked.

Ada looked up at her yawning and shaking her head in disagreement.

“Are you sure, sweetheart, you seem pretty tired?” Ava added.

Ada still insisted she could stay awake.

“How about I tickle you instead?” Sara reached over playfully grabbing Ada and proceeding to tickle her until she was laughing so hard, she started crying, “You ready for bed now?”

Ada looked up at Sara and grinned devilishly as if she were about to disagree. Sara put up her hands like she was going to tickle her again and Ada started laughing. She leapt out of bed and ran towards her room, Sara jogging after her. She hopped into her bed and pulled the covers over her head to block Sara from tickling her again.

Sara walked over and gently pulled the thick blanket from over her face. She leaned down and kissed Ada on the forehead and fixed the static in her hair the comforter had caused.

Ada reached over and grabbed her stuffed cat, “G’night Mama.”

“Goodnight, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Will you tell mommy g’night?”

“Of course, baby.”

Sara hit the lights and slowly closed the door behind her. She quickly stopped in Maeve’s room to grab her stuffed bunny and then knocked on the door to Eadlyn’s room. She found her still reading her book in bed.

“Hi, Mama.”

“Hi Eady, I just came in to say goodnight.”

“Can I read one more chapter?”

“Of course,” Sara responded and kissed her daughter on the head, “I will see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight.”

Sara closed the door behind her and walked back into her room. She handed the bunny to Maeve, which she graciously took, and then crawled under the covers. They stayed in silence until Maeve looked up.

“Why is Ada not sad or scared?” Maeve whispered.

“Well, everyone deals with things differently. Sometimes bad things affect some people more than others. Are you sad or scared?” Ava already knew the answer was “yes,” but this was the first time Maeve had brought it up and she wanted to see if she would talk about it.

Maeve bit her upper lip and looked down at her hands. She slowly shook her head, clearly embarrassed.

“Hey,” Sara hummed softly, “Anything you are feeling is okay. It’s okay to be sad, or angry, or upset, or scared. It’s also okay to not understand how you are feeling. Emotions can be confusing. You will get better at recognizing them as you get older.”

Maeve nodded and hugged her stuffed bunny. She leaned into Ava’s side and Ava gently draped her arm around her and pulled her close.

Sara wanted to see if Maeve would continue expressing her feelings and decided to tell her a little bit about her past with the Gambit and the Amazo, but not enough to scare her. She wanted to make a point that would be relatable but wouldn’t scar her for life. “You know, I don’t like going on boats,” She started and both Maeve and Ava turned to look at her. Ava reached out and grabbed her hand knowing this wasn’t easy for Sara to talk about.

“When I was younger, I was on a boat in the ocean and something went wrong, and it sank. I ended up getting rescued by another boat, but it sank a year later, and I was rescued again. Ever since then, I don’t like going out on boats. I can swim in pools and the ocean and in lakes, but I won’t go out on a boat. But there are some people who have been in boat accidents that can go out on boats and even enjoy it. The point I’m trying to make is all of us had a scary boat experience and yet we all handled it differently. It doesn’t mean one way is right or wrong, it just means no two people are the same.”

Maeve looked up questioningly at Sara, “Do you think you’ll ever go on a boat again?”

Sara looked into her daughter’s bright blue eyes and gave her an honest answer, “I don’t know. I haven’t tried to get on a boat in a long time.” 

Maeve paused for a moment and leaned over to hug Sara whispering, “You’re really brave.”

“So are you, Maeve-y, you’re one of the bravest people I know.”

“I don’t feel brave.”

“Why would you say that?” Ava asked, gently running her fingers through her daughter’s soft and wavy hair.

“I couldn’t even play today. I wanted to,” She shyly admitted.

“That doesn’t mean you’re not brave,” Ava promised.

“It doesn’t?”

“No,” Sara assured, “It doesn’t.”

Maeve sat in silence biting the inside of her lip contemplating if she should say more.

“You know you can tell us anything, right?” Ava spoke softly and yet encouragingly. 

When she finally lifted her head, she looked so scared Sara and Ava could practically feel the nervous energy irradiating from their daughter. “I got scared when you were throwing snowballs. When daddy got mad, he would throw things.”

“Throwing snowballs reminded you of that?” Sara deduced.

Maeve bit her lip and nodded, “He would throw things at the wall.” She paused for a moment before admitting, “And sometimes at me.” She spoke so softly that, at first, Sara and Ava weren’t sure if they heard her correctly. They were immediately overcome with anger and rage at her father but kept straight faces so she wouldn’t think they were mad at her.

Maeve immediately panicked when she realized what she said. Her eyes went wide her breathing became erratic, “But it’s okay.”

“No, baby, it’s not okay,” Sara told her. She tried to be firm with her statement and yet soft enough that Maeve would know she was safe. 

“It was my fault.”

“No, honey, it wasn’t your fault. When people treat you like that, it’s never your fault,” Ava explained. Her heart was racing as she desperately wanted to instantly convince Maeve of this fact, but deep down she knew she wasn’t going to be able to prove this to her in one night.

Maeve looked at Ava but didn’t give a discernable facial expression leaving her to question what was going on in her daughter’s mind.

Sara reached out her hand to gently rub Maeve’s back, “No one in this house is ever going to treat you that way. Ava and I are going to do everything we can to make you feel safe, okay?”

Maeve nodded.

“I’m really proud of you,” Ava spoke sincerely.

Maeve looked up at her questioningly.

“It’s not easy to talk about stuff that scares you. It was really brave.”

“But Sara talked about boats?” Maeve said, clearly not believing what Ava had said.

“Yeah but, I’ve had a lot more years to talk about being afraid of boats.”

Maeve smiled for the first time all day and quipped, “Is that cause you’re old?”

“I am not old!” Sara countered and reached over to tickle her.

Maeve screeched and rolled over out of Sara’s reach. A laughing Ava grabbed Maeve so she wouldn’t roll off the bed. Ava lifted the covers so Maeve could climb under them.

“Alright, try to get some sleep, we’re going to be right here,” Ava said handing Maeve her stuffed bunny.

Sara got up to make sure Eadlyn had gone to sleep and hit the lights on her way back to the bed.

They stayed up, waiting for Maeve to fall asleep which took longer than expected, but she finally stopped tossing and turning and they could see her body rhythmically moving up and down from her steady breathing.

“That’s the most she has ever spoken to us,” Sara observed, “I mean not just about what happened, just the most she has ever spoken.”

“It’s because of you. You have a way with words.” Ava paused and then whispered, “I’m really proud of you, I know you don’t like talking about the Gambit and the Amazo and the League.”

“I think she just needed something to relate to. I know it’s not the same, but I wanted her to know she’s not alone in feeling afraid.”

“Well I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, but I’m prouder of her. I’ve never met a child as strong as her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Christmas will be much happier, I promise! 
> 
> Also snow ice cream is great! When I was little we would take about 10 cups of snow and mix it with a small can of sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and sprinkles if we had some. 
> 
> Brief Summary: Sara and Ava find out that Maeve and Ada had never seen snow so they go outside to play in it. Ultimately, they end up starting a snowball fight that triggers Maeve and she essentially just shuts down and won't talk. Sara ends up going inside with her and then later Ava takes over. That night, Ada notices something wrong and gets her to talk. Then Maeve has a heart to heart with Sara and Ava and tells a little bit of what happened before she went to live with them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Christmas Adventures ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm updating a week late and I have nothing to say for myself...
> 
> P.S I didn't have time to edit this so let me know if there is anything major that needs to be fixed.

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

Ava woke up Monday morning thirty minutes before her alarm was supposed to go off from a knee to her stomach. She shot up with a pained hiss and opened her eyes, jumping when she saw a grinning four-year-old kneeling on her stomach whose face was inches away from her own.

“Hi mommy,” Ada giggled quietly.

“Hi baby,” Ava yawned, “What are you doing?”

“I’m ready to play.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep some more?”

Ada adamantly shook her head in disagreement.

“Okay,” Ava sighed, “How about you go in your room and see how many times you can jump up and down?”

Ada leaped onto the floor and excitedly sprinted into her room.

Ava closed her eyes hoping to rest for a few more minutes before she came running back in. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for as long as she had hoped and less than five minutes later Ada came barreling back into the room jumping back up on the bed, effectively waking up Sara and Maeve in the process.

“What’s going on?” Sara groaned as she looked over at her wife.

Maeve slowly sat up rubbing her eyes and Ada sat between them giggling.

“I got 12, mommy,” Ada announced proudly.

“Oh really?”

“Mmmm hmmm,” She proudly hummed with her chin held high.

“I think your going to have to prove it,” She responded, lifting Ada onto the floor.

Ada proceeded to continuously jump up and down while everyone else tried to wake themselves up for the day.

When Ada finally fell to the ground laughing, Sara, Ava, and Maeve crawled out of bed.

“Hey, Ada,” Sara said as she knelt to the ground so she was eye level with her and lightly holding her waist so she would stay still, “How about you go get dressed for school. Last night, I put some clothes on the floor for you.”

She nodded and took off sprinting towards her room.

“That child has a LOT of energy,” Sara emphasized, slowly standing back up.

“Yeah,” Ava agreed, glancing down to see Maeve standing next to her. “Do you wanna stay home with us today?” She figured she should ask even though both her and Sara had agreed it would probably be best.

Maeve nodded and a slight smile appeared on her face.

Ava smiled back at her daughter and grabbed her clothes for the day as she headed to the bathroom to hop in the shower. Sara lead Maeve to her room so she could get dressed. She helped her daughter pick out her clothes and then headed to Eadlyn’s room. She walked over to her eldest daughter and lightly shook her awake.

“What time is it,” She mumbled as she rolled over and pulled the covers over her head.

“It’s time to get ready for school,” Sara responded, pulling down the covers to her shoulders. The blankets had caused her hair to become staticky and it was sticking up in every direction.

Eadlyn groaned and dramatically rolled off the bed. She slowly stumbled towards her dresser to pull out her clothes for the day.

“Make sure you brush your teeth,” Sara instructed as she was leaving the room.

She was headed back to her own room to start getting ready when Ada went whizzing by her. Sara chuckled when she saw her.

“Ada come here,” Sara smiled and sighed as she dropped to the ground.

Ada slowly walked towards her, confused on why Sara had stopped her.

“Your shirts on inside out, your pants are on backwards, and you put both socks on one foot.”

Ada looked down at her outfit before making eye contact with Sara, her lips forming in “o” in realization.

“Would you like some help?”

Ada nodded and Sara redressed her child in the middle of the hallway.

Ava had finished in the bathroom and walked out of her room as Sara was pulling Ada’s shirt back over her head.

“You ready to brush your teeth?” Ava asked.

Ada nodded and sprinted to the bathroom to join both of her sisters by the sink.

Soon enough the family was downstairs sitting at the kitchen table eating bowls of cereal.

“Eady, Ada, you got to hurry and eat, or you’re going to be late for school,” Ava explained, trying to get her kids to actually eat their food instead of getting distracted by every possible thing.

“What about Maeve,” Eadlyn asked, lifting a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

“Remember how Maeve wasn’t feeling good yesterday? Well, she’s going to stay home and rest,” Sara explained.

Eady just nodded and continued to slowly eat her cereal.

Eventually, they finished and brought their bowls to the sink so Ava could clean them. Sara helped them grab their backpacks before herding them out the door to head to school.

“I’m going to check on the Legends quickly after I drop them off at school,” Sara said, kissing her wife before she headed out the door leaving Ava and Maeve alone.

“What would you like to do?” Ava asked as she dried the last dish.

Maeve shrugged. She wasn’t one to make a decision and more just went with the flow.

“How about we read a book?” Ava suggested.

Maeve nodded and they both headed upstairs. Maeve picked out a book and sat next to Ava so she could her the book while they waited for Sara to return home.

As the days went on, they could see that Maeve was doing much better. It was clear that talking to Sara and Ava had helped her, though they knew that talking once wasn’t going to completely heal her from her trauma.

The rest of the week flew by between school, getting ready for the upcoming holiday’s, and reigning in the Legends, that when Friday finally arrived, they completely forgot about the arrival of Laurel and Quentin.

Ava rushed down the stairs, still carrying a basket of laundry, when she heard the doorbell ring. She opened the front door and her eyes went wide with surprise when she realized who was standing in front of her.

“Did you forget we were coming?” Laurel asked incredulously.

“No,” Ava responded attempting to convince them, but ultimately her voice raised into a pitch so high her voice cracked leading to neither her sister nor father- in- law to believe her. “Come inside,” she added, moving to the side so they could make their way through the door. “Sara’s picking up the kids at school, but they will be back shortly.”

Ava closed the door behind them, “I’m going to run this back upstairs,” she said gesturing to the laundry basket still in her arms, “Help yourself to food or drinks, I’ll be right back.”

She raced upstairs to quickly finish the laundry. Laurel and Quentin both went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water when they heard the front door open and Eadlyn ran through the house to find them. Quentin quickly put the glass down when he saw is eldest granddaughter barreling towards him and lifted her into a tight hug.

“I missed you,” Eadlyn mumbled into Quentin’s shoulder.

“I missed you too,” he assured her.

The family exchanged greetings and the kids headed towards to door to grab their shoes and jackets. Eadlyn was overly excited as she had been waiting weeks for this day to finally come. They were finally heading to the store to pick out books for Christmas Eve.

They all gathered into their cars and headed to the local bookstore. Eadlyn was practically jumping in her seat the entire ride there. When they finally arrived, she jumped out of the car and Sara had to grab her so she wouldn’t run out alone into the middle of the parking lot. The seven of them walked into the bookstore together and quietly maneuvered their way through the loads of holiday shoppers as they headed to the kid’s section.

Sara and Ava had already noted what books the kids wanted and tried to point them in the correct directions. Each child got to pick out two books, one for each sibling, and then Sara and Ava were going to pick out a book for each other and then get together to find a book for Laurel and Quentin.

“Can I go with grandpa to find the books?” Eadlyn asked looking up at Sara.

Sara nodded and Eadlyn grabbed onto Quentin’s hand as they walked down one of the rows of bookshelves.

Ada looked up at her mom’s and asked, “Can I go with Aunt Laurel?”

“Of course,” Ava assured, “and Mama’s going to go with you.”

Sara turned and gave Ava a questioning look.

“Go with your sister. It’s been a lot harder for you to spend time with her because your both always so busy.”

Sara smiled and leaned in to give Ava a kiss, “Thank you,” she mumbled against her wife’s lips before turning to catch up with Ada and Laurel.

“That leaves you and me,” Ava said looking down at Maeve.

Maeve smiled and lightly grabbed a hold onto Ava’s outstretched hand, and they started walking up and down the aisles of books. 

“Do you know what book you want to get Ada?”

Maeve shook her head in defeat.

“Let’s go to the picture book section and find one you think she would like. How does that sound.”

Maeve smiled and allowed Ava to lead her through the store until they came across a wall of picture books. She carefully examined each option before landing on a Dr. Suess book. Ava smiled at the choice and lead her back to shelves that held books appropriate for Eadlyn.

“Do you know what book Eadlyn wants?”

Maeve nodded, “Percy Jackson, she told me.”

Ava nodded not surprised by that at all. She had a list of books written in her room that she wanted to read. Ava led Maeve down the aisles of books and towards the series. Maeve grabbed the first book and then followed Ava towards the Rebecca Silver novels to find one for Sara.

Meanwhile, Sara and Laurel were talking as they followed Ada up and down the aisles of books.

“When was the last time you and Ava went on a date?” Laurel asked.

“Actually, last week.”

“And you didn’t tell me about it?” Laurel asked utterly flabbergasted.

Sara normally told her sister everything, but they hadn’t had time to talk in the last week. “Yeah, it was the murder mystery dinner for her birthday.”

“I forgot about that, how was it.”

Sara just smiled, “It was great.”

“That’s it.”

Sara shrugged, “It was a nice night and we had a great time.”

Laurel looked questioningly at her sister implying she wanted more information.

“I love her Laurel, and I was happy seeing how great of a time she was having. It was also nice to have a night alone without any kids.”

“How did it go with the Legends watching the kids?” Laurel asked, genuinely curious about their babysitting abilities.

“mmm, long story short, Eadlyn ended up eating an eyeball.”

Laurel stopped dead in her tracks, “I’m sorry, what?!?”

“Yeah, it’s a long story. Putting three kids on a futuristic time ship under the supervision of adult children probably wasn’t our best parenting decision. All three of them assured us they had a great time and wanted to go back, so there’s that.”

After talking for a while Sara led Ada in the direction of the books Maeve and Eadlyn wanted. When they reached the Percy Jackson section, Sara picked up Ada and pointed to the books. “Can you pick out the one that has a two on it?”

Ada reached out, plucking the book off the shelf, and Sara gently placed her back on the ground. Then the three of them headed towards the nonfiction section to find a biography on serial killers for Ava.

As they headed to the front, they met up with Eadlyn and Quentin who had already finished. Eadlyn was holding a bag containing books for her sister’s as well as on for Peyton and Zac.

Once everyone finished cashing out, they loaded the bags into the car and headed towards the restaurant. They slid into the bench and Laurel started the conversation as she picked up her menu, “Are you excited for Christmas?”

“Yes,” Eadlyn announced, “I’m excited for the nerf gun fight.”

“The what?” Ada asked looking up at her older sister.

“Every year we have a nerf gun fight after dinner. Mommy or grandpa always win, but this year, I want to win.”

“What about Mama?”

“Aunt Laurel and I are better with a bo staff,” Sara explained, winking at her sister, “but umm,” she continued and looked over at her wife, “We might not be having the nerf gun fight this year.”

Sara and Ava wanted to talk to Maeve about the tradition. After they saw how triggering a snowball fight was, they decided it might not be the best of ideas to introduce nerf guns a few weeks later.

“But why?” Eadlyn asked, clearly upset with the idea.

“We can make new traditions with Maeve and Ada,” Laurel suggested. She knew what happened and understood the hesitance of her sisters. The morning after Maeve had talked to them Sara called Laurel hysterically sobbing after dropping off Eadlyn and Ada at school. Laurel was immediately concerned for her sister as she couldn’t remember the last time she had cried like that. When Sara told Laurel the story, she was overcome with intense anger towards the girl’s father.

“But we always do the nerf gun fight,” Eadlyn countered. Her innocence wasn’t lost on all the adults who knew she was still unaware of the effect the snowball fight had on Maeve, yet they really didn’t want to argue with her on the matter.

“We’ll talk about it later, Eady,” Ava explained.

“But, mom,” Eadlyn cried.

“Eady,” Sara interrupted sternly, giving her daughter a pointed glare.

Eadlyn sadly looked down at her plate dropping the conversation.

When they finally arrive home, it was getting late and Laurel and Quentin helped get Eadlyn, Maeve, and Ada ready for be while Sara and Ava set up a place for them to sleep. They put Ada in bed first and Eadlyn roped Laurel and Quentin into playing a board game. Eadlyn had asked Maeve, but she declined and went to go find Sara and Ava.

She found them cuddled together in the master bedroom and she stuck her head in the open doorway. Sara and Ava were both leaning up against the headboard when they called her into the room. Maeve climbed onto the bed and sat facing them, her knees curled into her chest as she played with the hem of her socks.

“What’s up, buttercup?” Sara asked.

“I’ll play,” Maeve whispered looking up at Ava and Sara.

“Play what,” Sara asked.

“On Christmas.”

“You don’t have to,” Ava responded.

“I want to.”

“Maeve-y,” Sara sighed, “If your saying this because you really want to play, then we can. But if your just saying you want to play because Eady wants to and you don’t want her to be upset or mad at you, which she won’t be not matter what you decide, we don’t have to play.”

Maeve bit the inside of her lip and played with the seams of her socks, “I just want to play with you and not be scared.”

Sara nodded and stood up. She opened the curtain revealing a large window that looked out over their yard. Then she carefully moved the television that was on the stand in front of it to the side. Next, she walked over to her dressed and pulled out her sock drawer. She brought it back over the bed and sat up against the headboard next to Ava and patted the seat between them. Maeve looked at her questioningly, but ultimately crawled in between Sara and Ava.

Sara grabbed two rolled up socks handing one to Ava and keeping one for herself.

“You’re giving me your stinky socks?” Ava questioned causing Maeve to giggle.

“Yes, because I think that the first step in helping Maeve is showing her that she is safe here. So, me and you are going to throw rolled up socks at the window and see who can hit the center windowpane the most times and if Maeve feels inclined, she can join us.”

Sara lifted her arm and tossed the sock towards the window hitting the target and it dropped to the ground with a light thud. Ava did the same but missed by a few inches. The continued to take socks from the drawer and chuck them towards the window while Maeve watched. Ava picked up a sock, and when Sara wasn’t looking, tossed the sock hitting her gently in the face.

“Hey,” Sara playfully protested and grabbed another sock to throw towards Ava. She knew it was coming through and moved out of the way laughing. Maeve giggled at the interaction. Ava took the opportunity to hand Maeve a sock. She tentatively grabbed it and sat for a moment contemplating while Sara and Ava continued to throw them at the window.

She slowly lifted her arm and both Sara and Ava were peering over with their peripheral vision so Maeve wouldn’t feel like she was being watched. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and tossed the socks towards the window.

“Good job! You hit the center windowpane,” Ava cheered and held her hand out to high five Maeve, who graciously accepted and had a huge smile on her face.

“We’re proud of you,” Sara told Maeve sincerely, causing her to blush and bring her hands up to her mouth to cover her slight smile.

They all got up to collect the socks and put them back in the drawer. The three of them crawled back on the bed and went through the entire drawer again all laughing as they tossed socks across the room.

After one last round of sock throwing, Sara and Ava notice Maeve’s blue eyes starting to droop and she was actively suppressing a yawn.

“How about we put you to bed?” Sara suggested as she placed the drawer back in her dresser.

They quickly put Maeve to bed and then Sara and Ava headed to Eadlyn’s room.

“Will you play with us, please?” Eadlyn asked looking up from the pile of cards in her hands.

“Sure,” They responded and sitting on the floor between Eadlyn and Quentin.

They restarted the game of UNO and were about halfway through when Eadlyn looked up, “Why can’t we do the nerf gun fight on Christmas?”

“Eady, I need you to drop this,” Ava sighed.

“I just don’t understand why?”

Sara sighed, “Remember the night we put up the Christmas tree and you told us that their birth parents were really mean?”

Eadlyn nodded remembering the conversation.

“Well, because of that, we don’t think the best way to spend our first Christmas together is to shoot nerf bullets at them, so we might have to skip a year and come back to the idea next Christmas. They still don’t know us that well so it might come across as not very nice.” Sara decided not to mention Maeve actually did want to participate. She didn’t want to get Eadlyn’s hopes up in case it didn’t end up happening.

“Ohhh,” Eadlyn responded as realization covered her face before quickly turning apologetic, “I’m sorry I bothered you about it.”

“Eady, you didn’t know,” Ava pulled her daughter into a hug and placed a kiss on her head.

They played a few more rounds and when they finally finished, the adults put Eadlyn to bed and stayed up to talk until the early hours of the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I will hopefully be updating in two weeks, but I've been horrible at following this timetable lately.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is it too early to post a Christmas Eve chapter? I hope not, because I am!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who finally got her life together enough to finish chapter 12!
> 
> This chapter is the shortest one I have done, but I wanted christmas to be its own chapter and I didn't have anything else to add to this one.

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

The weeks flew by and before everyone knew it, school was on winter break and it was the night before Christmas Eve. Sara and Ava had already put Ada to bed, and Eadlyn and Maeve were playing together in the upstairs hallway. Over the past few weeks, Maeve had become a bit more outgoing, though she was still quiet by all standards, and was spending a lot more time with Eadlyn. After Ada would go to bed, they insisted on playing together and were becoming very close. Sara loved to watch them because it reminded her of how close she and Laurel had been when they were growing. As a child, she would always sneak into Laurel’s room at night so they could talk after their parents had gone to sleep. They were still close, but with their adult lives, they had much less time to talk.

Maeve still insisted that she wanted to participate in the Christmas nerf gun fight tradition and had been spending every night with Sara and Ava practicing.

“I have one more game, you up for it?” Sara asked, stopping in front of Maeve.

Maeve nodded and stood up, about to follow Sara and Ava into the Master bedroom. Eadlyn had long since figured out that Maeve had wanted to play but took what their moms had said to heart and didn’t get her hopes up. Instead, she smiled encouragingly at her little sister and started to pick up the animal toys off the floor.

Maeve sat on the bed next to Ava while Sara headed into the walk-in closet. She came back holding three nerf guns. Sara and Ava had kept them in there after Eadlyn kept taking them and losing all the nerf gun bullets when she was younger.

Sara sat back on the bed and handed one to Ava. She kept on for herself and placed the other between her and Maeve. “We’re gonna do the same thing as usual but with nerf gun bullets. You ready?”

Maeve nodded and watched as Ava and Sara shot at the window.

“I won,” Ava smirked at Sara. Sara rolled her eyes and shook her head as they both rolled off the bed and headed to the window to pluck the nerf bullets off the glass.

Sara and Ava went through a few more rounds of nerf bullets before Maeve even started eyeing the nerf gun. When she finally lifted it up, Sara and Ava carefully watched her. The small girl sat frozen for a moment before she squeezed her eyes shut and hit the trigger sending the nerf bullet towards the window.

Maeve slowly opened her eyes and saw both Sara and Ava looking at her. “We’re proud of you Maeve-y,” Sara smiled, giving her daughter a high five.

“We should play on Christmas,” Maeve whispered.

“If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do,” Ava assured, “But, we will stop playing at any time if you feel uncomfortable.”

“It doesn’t matter if you decide to stop before the game starts, in the middle, or near the end, you say the word and everyone stops, okay?” Sara elaborated, “No one is going to be mad or upset, we just want you to feel safe and have fun.”

Maeve nodded and held up both hands to give both Sara and Ava a high five before they put her to bed for the night.

***

After lunch the next day, Eadlyn insisted on decorating a gingerbread house. Sara and Ava had covered the table and stood behind their kids, allowing them free reign on gingerbread house decoration and it was taking every ounce of Ava’s willpower not to take over so the house would turn out neat and symmetrical. It didn’t need to be perfect, but she couldn’t figure out how they had managed to use almost all the frosting and candy on the roof, leaving the house bare. 

When the doorbell rang, Ava jumped up from the table, quickly volunteering to answer it to keep herself from taking over the gingerbread house decorations.

Laurel and Quentin walked inside and discarded their boots and jackets by the door. They followed Ava into the kitchen to greet everyone, but all the kids were too focused on the finishing touches to their gingerbread house to notice anyone had entered the room.

When they finally looked up from their masterpiece, Sara and Ava helped them wash their hands before greeting their Aunt and Grandpa.

***

They spent the rest of the day as a family playing games, running around, and eating dinner. When they finally cleared the table and cleaned the dishes, Eadlyn grabbed the gifts for her friends and brought them out to the car.

Ava grabbed her jacket while Sara put on her shoes and grabbed the keys.

“Where are we going?” Ada asked when she saw her moms getting ready to leave.

“We are going to run an errand with Eadlyn, we’ll be back in a few minutes, I promise,” Sara responded.

Ada still looked wary, but Laurel walked over to distract her.

“Do you and Maeve want to help me make hot chocolate?”

She nodded and grabbed her aunt’s hand to lead her into the kitchen. Laurel looked back in time to see Sara mouth “thank you” before she and Ava slipped out the door.

Ava drove to Peyton and Zac’s house and parked on the side of the road across the street, turning off the headlights. They noticed lights on in the house and noticed silhouettes moving towards the back of the house.

Eadlyn and Sara quietly stepped out of the car and grabbed the gifts. Sara closed the truck and looked to Eadlyn, motioning for her to be quiet. She nodded and quickly tip-toed towards the front door, Sara following close behind. 

They gently piled the gifts in front of the door and took a step back.

“Okay, you’ve gotta ring the doorbell and run back to the car as fast as you can,” Sara whispered pointing to the door.

Eadlyn nodded in response. She took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell and taking off with Sara sprinting down the driveway towards the car. They both jumped in and Sara looked back to see Eadlyn smiling and giggling as she buckled her seatbelt.

***

They arrived back at the house and Eadlyn happily barged through the front door to greet her family, her mom’s following close behind.

“How was it?” Quentin smiled, looking up at his oldest grandchild. He was sitting at the kitchen table with Laurel, Maeve, and Ada playing Candy Land.

“Great, Mama and I dropped off the gifts and mom drove the getaway car,” Eadlyn smirked causing Sara to roll her eyes and Ava to burst out laughing.

They knew the only reason she understood the phrase was Taylor Swift. Everyone but Sara loved her music so they would often play it or use her lyrics and phrases as responses to annoy her, and for their own enjoyment of course.

“Can we bake cookies now?” Eadlyn asked hopefully.

“Yep,” Ava confirmed, “Help me grab the ingredients.”

Eadlyn took off her shoes and placed her jacket on the coat rack before grabbing the cookie cutters out of the pantry. Ava had made the dough the night before for time-saving purposes, but now they were going to shape, bake, and decorate them. The seven of them sat at the kitchen table, now cleared of game pieces, and cut the cookies into holiday shapes placing them one by one on the baking sheet.

They cleaned off the table and when the cookies were done, they all started to frost and decorate them. As predicted, Ava and Laurel both had perfectionist cookie decorating skills and were very focused on their work, Quentin tried but didn’t have the best artistic ability, Sara just threw some frosting on a cookie and called it good, Ada got frosting and sprinkles absolutely everywhere (seriously, how did she get sprinkles in her hair?), and Maeve and Eadlyn put in a lot of effort but they were still a little messy due to the young age.

When everyone finished decorating, everyone cleaned the kitchen and went upstairs to change into holiday pajamas.

Eadlyn walked downstairs last and wandered into the living room to find her sisters. They stripped the couch of cushions and carried a stack of blankets from the closet to the living room so they could make a fort to read in. When they finished, it was finally time for the book exchange.

Everyone gathered their wrapped books and one by one, passed them out to the respective family members. The adults smiled as the kids sat on the floor and excitedly ripped away the wrapping paper to reveal several books they were impatient to read.

Ada grabbed her books and jumped up, running over to Sara and Ava, who were sitting together on the couch. “Look!” she exclaimed, holding out the books for them to look at.

“Wow,” Ava exclaimed, matching the little girl’s energy. She uncrossed her legs and sat up straight, moving her wine glass away from the child. “Do you wanna help pass out the hot chocolate?”

Ada hopped up and followed Ava into the kitchen excited to help. Maeve and Eadlyn curled up inside the pillow and blanket for they had created and started whispering to each other. Sara smiled at them and looked up to see Laurel looking happily back at her.

When Ava and Ada returned with a tray of hot chocolate for everyone and sanded them out. Quentin and Laurel each took a reclining chair, Sara and Ava huddled together on the couch, Maeve and Eadlyn crawled back into the pillow and blanket fort, and Ada insisted on laying on the floor underneath the coffee table. Everyone opened their books and sat peacefully in the living room with the sound of the fireplace crackling in the background.

***

After about an hour had passed, Ada started to get restless and her moms could no longer get her to sit still and read. The four-year-old was running out of patients. She was excited about her first Christmas as a Lance tomorrow and had lost interest in her picture books a while ago. Between her excitement and the fact that she had been sitting on the floor for over an hour, her energy level was through the roof.

“Okay,” Sara announced as she placed the book down on the coffee table and stood up from the couch, “Ada, how about you put on some shoes so we can go outside.”

Ada ran towards the door to grab her shoes. Sara went to follow her, but Ava grabbed her arm, “What are you doing? It’s pitch black outside.”

“I’m going to turn on the outside lights and race her up and down the driveway to tire her out, and it’s warm enough outside that the ice is all melted so she won’t slip and fall.”

Sara hit the lights and held the door open leading Ada to the driveway. They proceeded to race each other up and down the driveway, Ada giggling the entire time. 

When she was finally tired enough to go to sleep, Sara and Ava put all three girls to bed. It wasn’t an easy feat, as all three were excited for Christmas morning, but they finally accomplished it and waited downstairs, chatting with Quentin and Laurel, until they were sure the girls fell asleep. Then, they placed all the gifts underneath the glowing tree and the four adults slowly stumbled up the stairs, plagued with tiredness, and flopped into their beds for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will only be doing a few more chapters of this (maybe 2-3 depending on how long Christmas ends up being). However, because I was initially going to do this story as a bunch of one shots, I am thinking of making this a series to write the one shots I had originally planned on (I have some Ideas with them high school aged, etc). So let me know if this is something you want me to do. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter even though it is SUUUUUUUUUPER late!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas in the Lance household!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHH I am so BAD at keeping a writing and posting schedule!! I'm sorry it has been over a whole month!!

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

Ava woke up once again hissing with pain from a knee to the stomach and the face of a four-year-old staring back at her. She rubbed her eyes and looked over at the bright numbers shining on her alarm clock that read 5:34 am.

“Merry Christmas mommy,” Ada whispered smiling at Ava.

“Merry Christmas baby. Lay down with us for a little while” Ava responded lifting the blanket so Ada could crawl under it.

“Can we go downstairs now?”

“Not yet,” Ava shook her head, too tired to get up, “It’s really early, try to go back to sleep.”

“I can’t, I’m too awake.”

“Can you try for me?”

Ada nodded leaning into Ava’s side and closing her eyes.

Ava managed to get another twenty minutes of sleep, which genuinely surprised her, before Eadlyn walked into their room a little before six in the morning, effectively waking up Sara as well.

“What time is it?” Sara mumbled rolling over to look at Ava.

“Almost six,” Ava responded.

“I’ll go make the coffee,” Sara groaned, rolling out of bed, knowing she wasn’t going to be able to convince Ada and Eadlyn to go back to sleep.

“I’ll go wake up Maeve, aunt Laurel, and grandpa,” Eadlyn announced and started heading for the door.

Sara gently grabbed her arm causing her to turn around, “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s early and they’re still sleeping, you’ve got to wait a little longer.”

“Aww,” Eadlyn whined.

Sara went downstairs to start a pot of coffee while Ava took Ada and Eadlyn to brush their teeth. Ava heard quiet footsteps and looked out the bathroom door to see Maeve walking down the hallway.

“Good morning baby, Merry Christmas.”

Maeve smiled back at Ava.

“Did you sleep well?”

She nodded and followed Ava into the bathroom to brush her teeth as well.

Ava herded the kids down the stairs and into the kitchen, trying to keep them from looking towards the Christmas tree and getting distracted.

As they entered the kitchen, Ava looked up to see Laurel and Quentin standing in the kitchen drinking cups of coffee and chatting with Sara. Sara smiled at her wife and handed her a cup of coffee.

“Happy Birthday, Sara, I love you,” Ava said, kissing Sara on the forehead before taking a sip of her coffee.

“Merry Christmas babe,” Sara responded.

Ada walked up to Sara and lightly tugged on her shirt, “Did Santa come?”

Sara smiled at her youngest and picked her up into her arms, “How about we go find out.”

Ada grinned as Sara carried her into the living room with the rest of the family following close behind. Ada’s eyes went wide with surprise when she saw all the gifts sitting around the tree.

“Wow!” she exclaimed, unable to peel her eyes off the tree.

Sara put her down and she slowly walked towards the tree examining every gift. Ava and Sara turned to see Maeve quietly standing behind them also wearing a face of surprise.

“Do you want to open your stocking?” Sara asked.

Ada frantically nodded and Maeve smiled. Eadlyn grabbed the stockings by the fireplace and began to pass them out to each of the family members.

Sara and Ava placed their empty mugs on the coffee table and sat on the couch, Ava resting her head on Sara’s shoulder. Laurel and Quentin each took one of the chairs and the three kids sat on the floor in front of the couch. Eadlyn removed the first gift from her stocking and ripped the wrapping paper off it. Ada followed foot and pulled a wrapped box out of the stocking with her name sewed onto it.

Ada got up and ran to Sara, “mama look, it’s purple!” she exclaimed holing out the toothbrush she had just unwrapped in front of her.

“Wow!”

Ada grinned widely as she plopped back to the ground to join her sisters to finish opening their stockings. They each had a pile of small gifts and were cleaning up the wrapping paper while Quentin and Laurel started to organize the gifts under the tree to pass out when the doorbell rang. Sara and Ava turned to each other with confused faces.

“Are you expecting someone?” Quentin asked, looking up from underneath the tree.

“No,” Sara responded as Ava shook her head.

Sara walked over to the front door and looked outside to see an older woman bundled in a winter jacket and hat, holding a giant bag of wrapped gifts. Sara slowly opened the door shocked at the sight.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” Sara asked, moving to the side and holding the door open so Dinah could walk in the house.

“What? Am I not allowed to surprise my children and grandchildren?”

“No! I’m happy you came! You just said you had to work,” Sara elaborated leaning in to hug her mother.

“I managed to get it off and decided to surprise you.”

“Well everyone is this way,” Sara responded leading her through the house to the living room.

“Look who’s here,” Sara said, as she walked into the room with Dinah on her tail.

“Grandma!” Eadlyn exclaimed jumping up to hug Dinah.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” Laurel asked.

“I got the day off and decided to surprise everyone.”

After they greeted Dinah, they sat back down, and Quentin started passing out the gifts from underneath the tree. Ada opened the first gift, excited to find a package containing six different bottles of nail polish.

“Look at all the colors!” Ada exclaimed, showing Sara and Ava who were now sitting on the floor next to their kids. “Can I paint your nails?”

“How about later,” Sara suggested, “You’ve got to finish opening your gifts.”

“But what about you and mommy? Don’t you have gifts?”

“Ada,” Laurel called, walking towards her niece, holding out a small box. Ada graciously took it and crawled into Sara’s lap. Laurel handed boxes to Maeve and Eadlyn as well and they walked towards the couch.

“Merry Christmas!” Ada announced handing her box out to Sara, “It’s for you and mommy.”

“Thank you, baby,” Sara said kissing Ada’s forehead.

Sara and Ava opened the three boxes from their children to reveal shells and rocks that had been painted and glued onto magnets.

“Did you make these?” Ava asked, admiring the gifts.

“Mmmm-hmm,” Ada nodded.

“We went to the beach with aunt Laurel and collected shells and rocks and made magnets for the fridge,” Eadlyn explained.

“I love them,” Ava said.

“Me too,” Sara grinned.

Maeve smiled with a sigh of relief; it was clear she feared they wouldn’t like them. Ava leaned forward, placing her forearms on her knees so she was face to face with Maeve.

“You did a really great job on the gift, Maeve,” Ava assured.

Maeve nodded and walked over to join her sisters by the tree. They happily opened the rest of their gifts, while all the adults grinned at their excitement. 

After opening her last gift, Ada stood up and skipped towards her mom’s. Ava lifted her head off Sara’s shoulder and uncrossed her legs so Ada could limb into her lap. Ava wrapped her arms around her and rested her chin on top of Ada’s head. They sat like that for a moment, Ada happy to be sitting with Ava. 

“I think someone is hungry,” Ava said, lifting her head looking down at Ada after her stomach started to rumble.

Ava carried Ada into the kitchen and placed her on the counter. She headed to the fridge and started grabbing food, “What would you like?”

“Pancakes!”

Everyone helped with breakfast and before you know it, they had all eaten, the kitchen was cleaned, and they had all gotten ready for the day, Ada insisting on wearing the new light brown sweater she had gotten that had a fuzzy bear printed on it. When Ada reached the bottom stair, she bolted into the living room, over to her gifts, and grabbed her package of nail polish. She held it tightly to her chest and sprinted to the kitchen, where she found Ava and held onto her leg. Ava finished putting the last clean plate in the cabinet and looked down at her daughter.

“Can I paint your nails now, mommy?”

“Absolutely,” Ava responded cheerfully, placing her hand on Ada’s shoulder.

Ava led her over to the kitchen table and laid down a piece of newspaper. 

“What color, mommy?” Ada asked holding out the package.

“Whichever color you want, Ada-bear,” Ava responded referring to her sweater. She kissed a giggling Ada on the head as she sat in the chair.

“Pink?” Ada questioned handing the nail polish to Ava. She opened the package, carefully handing it back to Ada who was kneeling on the chair adjacent to her and placed her hand on the newspaper.

Ava nervously watched as Ada brushed the paint across her nails. Her eyebrows were creased in concentration as she tried her best not to get paint everywhere, although it didn’t work as well as planned. The final product had a few missing spaces and quite a bit of paint on the skin around Ava’s fingernails but overall wasn’t bad.

“Good job Ada-bear,” Ava told her when she had finished.

Ada smiled gleefully and Ava took the nail polish from her and made sure to tighten the cap so it wouldn’t spill everywhere.

Ada then managed to rope Sara into sitting at the kitchen table to get her nails painted as well as Laurel and Dinah. Finally, she made her way over to Quentin who was happy to let his granddaughter paint his nails the bright orange she had picked.

When he and Ada walked back into the living room, they saw Dinah and Sara talking, Eadlyn kneeling on the ground at the coffee table drawing, and Laurel and Ava were teaching Maeve how to play monopoly junior. Ada grabbed her new box of crayons and skipped over to Eadlyn who offered her a blank piece of paper to color on while Quentin went and sat by Sara.

Everyone was entranced in their own activities and didn’t notice when Ada conned Eadlyn into painting her nails in the other room. Moments later everyone turned when they heard the wooden chairs scraping across the hardwood floor and Eadlyn yelling, “ADA!!!”

Sara and Ava glanced at each other before taking off towards the kitchen. Quentin and Dinah followed close behind while Laurel stayed with Maeve who was looking at her aunt clearly worried for her sisters.

When they entered the kitchen, their eyes widened in shock. Instead of using regular nail polish, Ada thought it would be a good idea to use regular finger paint for her nails and she had managed to accidentally spill the container. Green paint was now seeping through the newspaper and pooling on the kitchen table, splattered the picture Eadlyn was working on, dripping on the floor, and covering both Eadlyn and Ada’s hands and clothes.

“What did you do?!?” Eadlyn yelled towards her little sister while she held her arms out in front of her as the paint dripped from her hands to the floor.

When Ava’s eyes finally rested on Ada, she noticed her lips were trembling in fear and tears were pooling in the little girl’s red eyes. She rushed over to her and squatted next to her careful not to step in any paint, while Sara headed over to Eadlyn.

“What happened?” She asked, careful to stay calm and collected even though she was in a mental frenzy about the state of her kitchen.

“I wanted green nails, but I didn’t have green nail polish,” Ada cried.

“Honey,” Ava sighed, “you can’t use regular paint on your nails, it doesn’t work like that.”

Ada nodded as tears fell down her cheeks.

“How about we get you cleaned up, okay.”

“Okay,” Ada hiccupped. Ava carefully reached out, not wanting to startle the girl, and lifted her up. She held her away from her body so she wouldn’t cover herself in paint and placed her on the counter next to the kitchen sink and started washing her down.

“Are you- are you mad?” Ada whispered, carefully looking up at Ava after she finally built up the courage to ask.

“No,” Ava responded, making sure to give her a genuine smile knowing about her past, “I just need you to promise you won’t try to paint your nails with anything other than nail polish”

Ada bit her lip and slowly nodded in agreement, “I promise.”

“Accidents happen,” Ava continued, “You just have to be prepared to deal with them, so once we get you washed up, you and I are going to clean up the paint, and you need to apologize to Eady for getting paint on her picture, okay?”

“Okay,” Ada agreed. She finally took the opportunity to look down at her clothes and noticed she had splattered paint all over her new sweater and the tears started to build again. “Mommy, there’s paint on my shirt.”

Ada put down the cloth she was using to clean Ada and gently lifted her chin so she was forced to look her in the eye, “It’s okay, when can get the paint out.” She carefully lifted the sweater over Ada’s head and placed it in the sink under the running water and continued to scrub the paint off her child.

She got most of the paint off Ada and opted to change her clothes after the kitchen was cleaned to prevent any more accidents. She lifted Ada off the counter and noticed Dinah and Quentin both scrubbing the floor.

“You don’t need to do that, you’re our guests,” Ava explained grabbing a mop and some sponges from the closet.

“Nonsense,” Dinah responded, “We’ll help you clean,”

“Thank you,” Ava smiled knowing that arguing wasn’t going to prevent them from helping. She handed Ada the sponge and walked her through cleaning up the paint off the table.

Meanwhile, Sara grabbed a paper towel and started to wipe the paint off Eadlyn’s hands.

“Here, let’s go to the bathroom so I can help you wash the paint off.”

Eadlyn didn’t respond but followed Sara towards the bathroom.

Sara ran to the sink and grabbed a cloth to wipe the paint off Eadlyn’s hands, “What happened?”

“Ada painted my nails blue and then I started to draw, but she decided to paint her own nails and I wasn’t paying attention when she went to the cabinet and grabbed the paint. I heard the container fall and then it was all over me and Ada and my drawing and my colored pencils.” Eadlyn explained.

“Hey,” Sara said gently, “We can clean up the pencils and if not, we can grab you a new box later this week.”

“Thank you, but the drawing is still ruined.”  
  


“I don’t think I can salvage the drawing, but I can help you draw another one if you’d like,” Sara knew she would never agree to this as Sara’s drawing skills were below average but she figured she would suggest it. She knew she couldn’t save the drawing and didn’t know what Eadlyn needed.

“No thanks,” Eadlyn responded and sat in silence as Sara cleaned up the paint. When it was finished, she changed her clothes and headed back downstairs to find the rest of her family.

She got to the living room first and saw Laurel telling a story about her and Sara’s childhood that had caused Maeve to start giggling. Laurel had managed to convince her that everything was fine and distract her from her worries about her sisters.

“Hey Eady, you okay?” Laurel asked pausing her story.

Eadlyn nodded and sat down beside Maeve, “What are you talking about?”

“I’m telling Maeve about the time your mama snuck out of the house and got caught trespassing as a teenager.”

“Really?” Eadlyn exclaimed.

“Yep,” Laurel explained, “She got in a lot of trouble, grandpa was not happy.”

Ada skipped into the room, Ava walking in behind her. Maeve lit up when she saw her little sister, relieved she was okay.

“Hey, Ada-bear, what was the last thing you need to do,” Ava asked sweetly.

Ada shuffled towards her older sister and looked towards the ground as she played with the sleeves on her shirt, “I’m sorry about your drawing, Eady.”

“It’s okay,” Eadlyn responded and scooted over to give Ada more room on the couch.

“Ada-bear, huh,” Sara whispered in Ava’s ear. No one had heard her enter the room and Ava jump a bit with surprise when Sara spoke.

“She loves that sweater. She looked so upset when she thought it was ruined, plus she giggles whenever I call her that.”

“I’ll have to try that,” Sara said looking over at Ada who was still sitting on the couch, chatting away with Laurel.

“I’m going to start cooking,” Ava told Sara and walked over to Laurel to let her know.

They walked together into the kitchen and started pulling out dishes from the cabinet and food from the fridge. Ava and Laurel cooked Christmas dinner together every year. It started as a way for Laurel to get to know Ava after she first started dating Sara over ten years ago, and then became a yearly tradition. It worked out well because Sara and Quentin weren’t the best of cooks and preferred to order take out and Laurel wouldn’t let Dinah cook, telling her to talk to Sara or play with Eady. Because of the nature of Sara’s time travel job, Christmas was one of the only times Sara and Dinah saw each other and Laurel wanted them to be able to catch up.

“Mom?” Eadlyn asked running up to Ava and Laurel, “Can I help you this year.”

Ava smiled, surprised by the offer, “I think that’s a great idea.”

In the living room, Quentin was trying to teach Ada how to play checkers while Dinah was trying to have a conversation with Maeve. Sara appreciated how much her mom wanted to connect and get to know Maeve, but Sara could see how visibly overwhelmed and tense she was by the woman she had only met twice before trying to get her to talk. 

Sara walked over to the couch and sat next to Maeve, lightly scratching her back to let her know she was there. She could feel Maeve’s muscles relax and noticed she let out the breath she had been holding.

“Hey, mom, what have you been up to lately?” Sara interjected.

“Not much, just trying to get to know my granddaughter.”

Sara leaned down to whisper in Maeve’s ear, “Do you wanna go play with Ada and grandpa? I’m sure they will teach you to play checkers.”

“Yes,” Maeve whispered and tentatively walked over to her Ada and Quentin who welcomed her presence with open arms.

Once she made sure Maeve was fine, she turned back to her mother, “Mom, you can’t force her to talk to you. I know you want to get to know her and I really appreciate it, but you won’t get through to her like that.”

“I just see her absolutely adore you and Ava, and she gets along well with Laurel and Quentin and I wanted to be able to have that relationship with her.”

Sara tilted her head and gave her mother a sympathetic smile, “I’m glad you want that, but she’s really quiet and it takes her a long time to trust people. She lives with Ava and I and she sees Laurel and Quentin all the time which is why she’s becoming more comfortable around us. She’s only met you twice. I’m sure one day she will connect with you, but it’s going to take a lot of time and patience.” 

Dinah nodded thoughtfully and wrapped her arms tightly around her youngest daughter, “You’re right, and I’m proud of you. You and Ava are doing a great job with the kids.”

Sara breathed in the comforting smell of her mother, “I love you, mom.”

“I love you too.”

Sara and Dinah continued to chat until Eadlyn came running into the room announcing the food was finished. Everyone walked to the kitchen table and took a seat. They chatted away, the adults telling embarrassing stories about one another that made everyone laugh. Once the kitchen was clean and everyone had partially digested their Christmas dinner, Sara felt something hit her back. She turned to see Eadlyn standing behind her holding a nerf gun with a very serious face.

“It’s time,” Eadlyn announced handing Sara a nerf gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!! The next chapter should be up soon (I actually mean it this time, I'm already halfway done with it)!!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm such a slow writer that I have been working on all the Christmas chapters for months and by the time I am posting them we are actually in the Christmas season. Whoops. At least it's festive.

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

“It’s time,” Eadlyn announced handing Sara a nerf gun.

Everyone grabbed a nerf gun from the collection and got ready to start. The rules were simple, it’s a free for all, shoot the opponents and the last one standing wins. The winner gets to pick the Christmas movie they watch that night. 

Ava head towards Maeve and pulled her aside to talk, gently placing her hands on the little girl’s shoulders. “If you want to stop playing let anyone of us know and we will let everyone know and immediately stop, no questions asked, okay?”

“Okay.”

Before the game began everyone ran to hide so they weren’t all starting in the same room. Sara and Ava discretely followed Maeve through the house so they could keep a close eye on her.

Sara yelled for the game to begin and Eadlyn came out from behind the living room couch guns blazing and took out Dinah faster than the elder woman would like to admit. Ada climbed out from underneath the upstairs bathroom cabinet and out into the hallway. She froze when she saw Laurel leave Eadlyn’s bedroom. She shot towards her aunt, but it went wide leaving her exposed in the middle of the hallway. Laurel took the opportunity to shoot at Ada, but she missed (she would later claim it was unintentional, but everyone saw right through her lie) giving Ada the time to run into her room. Laurel ran by, and Ada shot and missed again, giving Laurel the opportunity to run down the stairs, Ada running after her.

Maeve crept out from underneath her bed and saw Sara peeking out the door of the master bedroom across the upstairs hallway. She froze, unsure of what to do, but as Sara crept closer, she lifted the nerf gun and pointed it at Sara. She took a deep breath and a moment to build up the courage to even think about pulling the trigger. If Sara was being honest, even with all the practice, she didn’t think that Maeve would have shot that quickly in the game, but before she knew it, the little girl had closed her eyes and pulled the trigger hitting her directly in the chest with a nerf gun bullet. Sara stood, staring at her daughter in shock and awe. Maeve opened her eyes and saw Sara smiling at her. Sara noticed the look of relief that crept onto Maeve’s face after everything that had just happened, and Sara was proud of her courage. In any other game, she would have been VERY unhappy at how early she had lost, but at that moment, Sara didn’t care, she was just happy for Maeve.

She walked over knelt in front of her daughter, the grin still covering her face, “I am so proud of you, Maeve-y. You were very brave. You will always be safe in this house.”

Maeve smiled, happy at Sara’s response to getting shot.

Sara whispered into Maeve’s ear before standing up, “Now, how about you go downstairs and win this thing.”

Sara and Maeve snuck down the stairs just in time to see Ada peek out from the kitchen and shoot Laurel in the back. She turned confused as she was unaware the now giggling little girl was ever behind her. She took the loss, smiling at Ada, and she and Sara joined Dinah on the couch to watch the rest of the game play out.

Ava finally appeared, her head peeking out from the stairwell. She lifted the nerf gun and shot across the room at Eadlyn who noticed her and jumped out of the way. This allowed Quentin to shoot in Ava’s direction. She ducked and shot back at him, but it went high.

Ava saw Ada staring at her with her nerf gun raised. Ada shot and missed but still stood in front of Ava. Ava shot and hit the little girl in the legs giving her an apologetic smile. Ada shrugged and walked to the couch, hopping onto Sara’s lap.

Eadlyn used Ava’s worry about shooting Ada to her advantage and shot at her from across the room but missed. Ava looked up and noticed Quentin standing behind Eadlyn ready to shoot, but Ava beat him to it and the nerf bullet hit him square in the forehead. Before Ava could think about shooting again, Eadlyn hit the trigger and the bullet hit Ava in the arm.

“Where is Maeve?” Ava whispered to Sara after sitting down on the couch next to her. She had realized Maeve and Eadlyn were the only two left, but no one had seen Maeve since she had come downstairs after shooting Sara.

Sara smirked and turned her head to Eadlyn not answering the question. Eadlyn walked around with her nerf gun ready to fire as she searched for her sister. When she walked into the kitchen, Ava noticed the bathroom cabinet open and she saw Maeve crawl out of it as quietly as she could. She grabbed the gun and tiptoed up to the doorway. Eadlyn walked through the kitchen and out into the hall heading towards the bathroom still looking for her sister. As she got closer to the bathroom, she saw Maeve peak out from behind the door. Maeve took a step out towards the hallways so she could see Eadlyn better and they both stood frozen, staring at each other with their nerf guns pointing forward, neither one of them shooting.

The adults on the couch sat biting their lips and eyes wide wondering how this was going to play out and if they were going to have to intervene for Maeve.

Eadlyn shot first and it was in slow motion. The bullet went towards Maeve and everyone thought it was going to hit her, but ultimately went whizzing by her head. Eadlyn smiled and waited as Maeve took a deep breath. _It’s okay_ , she mumbled to herself and finally pulled the trigger. The nerf bullet left the gun and headed towards Eadlyn. Everyone watched with wide eyes as the bullet sailed closer and closer to the eight-year-old until it hit her in the shoulder.

Ada was the first to jump up from the couch running over and jumping onto Maeve, “You did it! You won!”

Everyone walked over to congratulate Maeve causing her to blush and looked down at her feet from all the attention.

“I think it’s about time we had dessert. What do you think?” Dinah asked looking down at Maeve.

She nodded and everyone followed Dinah into the kitchen. Ava discretely took a bakery box out of the fridge and placed candles in it without Sara noticing. She dimmed the lights and announced, “Happy birthday, Sara!”

They all sang happy birthday and cake at the table. After Eadlyn gulped down two pieces of cake, she ran into the living room and came back with a wrapped box, handing it to Sara.

“Happy Birthday, Mama!”

Sara pushed her plate full of crumbs into the center of the table and grabbed the box and card from Eadlyn. “Thank you, Eady.”

She opened the card first and noticed she had created a banner that said happy birthday that pops up when you open it, “Did you make this?”

Eadlyn smiled and nodded proudly.

“This is really cool Eady,” She wrapped her arms around Eadlyn and placed a kiss on her head.

Next, she ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside she found a bunch of rings that Eadlyn had made out of wire and miniature beads.

“I made them cause you always wear rings.”

“I love them, Eady. You did a really great job.”

After that everyone else went to grab their gifts for Sara. Quentin had bought her a new bo staff to train with and Sara did not question where he was able to find one and Dinah got her a very nice bottle of alcohol. Laurel was next and when she opened the small box, she pulled out a light blue flash drive. Sara looked up at her confused. Laurel explained that she was able to find a bunch of old photos from their childhood. She wanted Sara to be able to have them too, so her digitized and organized them into folders on the flash drive for her.

“Laurel,” Sara cried. She reached out and held her sister in a long embrace.

Once she got her emotions in check, Ada handed her a gift.

“Happy birthday, mama!”

The gift was similar to the one she had given Ava for her birthday. She had used paint to create thumbprint balloons and Ava had written a message in the card while Ada wrote her name. The gift was a coffee mug that she had decorated.

“It’s me and you in the snow,” Ada exclaimed pointing to the drawing on the mug.

“It is! I love it Ada-bear,” Sara responded, using the nickname Ava had given her. As expected, the little girl collapsed into a fit of giggles that caused Sara to smile.

Maeve handed Sara her gift next, “Happy birthday, Sara.”

Sara opened the card and noticed she had covered the front of the card in flowers that she had painted. She wrote happy birthday in large child print and drew a picture of a present inside. She unwrapped the gift and saw that she had made a necklace out of seashells and she had braided the string they were on.

“I love it Maeve-y.” Sara hugged her daughter before taking that last gift from Ava.

Ava had made a handmade card that had a perfectionist touch. She opened the gift and noticed a new set of throwing knives which she quickly put out of reach. She was about to put the gift bag away and noticed an envelope at the bottom of the bag. She took it out and opened it, her eyes going wide.

“A romantic weekend getaway to the time period and place of your choosing!” She looked up at her wife in shock, “Ava gone wild! Using time travel for our own personal gain?”

“You’ve earned it,” Ava joked.

“Genghis Khan? We never did meet him for our second date.”

“I don’t know how romantic that will be,” Ava smiled.

“I’ll think of something,” Sara assured. She stood up and tightly wrapped her arms around her wife, “I love you.”  
  


“I love you too.” 

They threw out the wrapping paper and Sara brought the knives upstairs to be locked away. The three kids changed into pajamas and headed back downstairs. When Sara came back to the living room, she found Maeve. “I heard that someone has earned the honor of picking out tonight’s Christmas movie.”

Maeve followed Sara into the living room and Sara scrolled through all the movies available on their streaming platforms to show Maeve her options; she ultimately decided on “Home Alone.” Ava made the popcorn, and everyone joined the family in the living room. Quentin started a fire in the fireplace, and everyone grabbed blankets for the movie. Eadlyn and Maeve curled up together in one of the armchairs with a small bowl of popcorn and Laurel, Dinah, Quentin, and Sara huddled together on the couch playfully fighting over the large bowl of popcorn. Ava looked happily at the Lance family who hadn’t all been able to see each other without something crazy going on in a while. Ava took the other armchair with Ada cuddled in her lap and a fuzzy blanket covering both of them. She had one arm holding a small bag of popcorn and the other wrapped tightly around Ada.

About halfway through the movie, Ada’s head collapsed onto Ava’s chest. She could hear light snoring and could feel the small girl’s steady breathing indicating that she was asleep. Ava gently scratched her back hoping the loud movie scenes wouldn’t wake the small girl.

When the movie ended, the sound of everyone stretching and the lights going on startled Ada and she slowly lifted her head off Ava, blinking a few times as she became aware of her surroundings.

“Hey, Ada-bear,” Ava whispered, “You ready for bed?”

Too tired to fight, she nodded her head yes and rested her head on Ava’s shoulder. Ava stood up and everyone bid Ada good night while Ava brought her upstairs, Sara following behind her.

Ava gently laid Ada in her bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. She kissed her on the forehead and backed away so Sara could see her.

“Mama, kitty,” Ada asked reaching her arm in Sara’s general direction, too tired to string an entire sentence together.

Sara picked up the stuffed cat that had fallen on the floor and handed it to the little girl. She cuddled the cat to her chest and rolled over to get comfortable, falling asleep before Sara or Ava had a chance to wish her goodnight.

They strolled back downstairs and sat together in the armchair, Sara practically on top of Ava, as the rest of the family chatted away. It was calm and peaceful, and everyone was enjoying a relaxing holiday evening. 

Maeve was curled up in the armchair in a blanket trying to listen to the stories everyone was telling, but her eyes were drowsy as she was plagued with tiredness. Dinah noticed this and walked towards her granddaughter, reaching her arms out towards her.

“Are you ready for bed?”

Maeve used the last of her energy after the long day to move away from Dinah and shaking her head in disagreement.

“I can read you a book if you’d like?” She suggested, really trying to connect with Maeve. Sara shook her head and was about to intervene when Maeve spoke.

“No,” she whined quietly, “I want Sara and Ava.”

Sara and Ava turned to each other both looking for confirmation that what they heard was true. They rushed over to her, as Dinah backed away, Ava reaching her first.

“We’re right here,” Ava whispered kneeling next to the chair and gently caressing the young girls’ cheek with her thumb.

Maeve reached her arms out from underneath the blanket and Ava pulled her into an embrace, lifting her from the couch. Maeve loosely wrapped her arms around Ava’s neck and gently rested her head on her shoulder.

Ava carried Maeve upstairs and into her room to lay her down in her bed, but when she tried, Maeve’s grip around her neck tightened.

“Can I put you down?”

Maeve buried her head even deeper into Ava’s neck and shook her head.

“How about I lay down with you?”

Maeve’s death grip loosened, and she allowed Ava to put her down. Ava lifted the covers and scootched closer to Maeve, wrapping her arms around her.

“Are you okay?” Ava wondered.

Maeve nodded and leaned even closer into Ava’s side, “Will you stay?”

“Of course,” Ava assured, rolling onto her side to face Maeve and get more comfortable, “Did you have a good Christmas?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Will you read me a story?” Maeve blushed.

“I would love to,” Ava smiled. She reached behind her and blindly grabbed the closest book off the desk not wanting to get up.

“Chapter one,” she started as she flipped to the first page of the Magic treehouse book while Maeve cuddled into her side.

They sat like this for a while, Ava reading the book and Maeve curled into her side trying desperately not to fall asleep when they looked up and saw Sara leaning against in the doorway.

Sara pushed her back off the doorway to stand up straight and walked over to the bed and gently caressed Maeve’s hair, “Hey Beautiful, is Ava reading to you?”

Maeve nodded, looking up happily at Sara, “Do you wanna stay and listen?”

“Of course,” Sara grinned taking a seat on the bed on the other side of Maeve, “Eadlyn roped everyone into a game of Clue.”

Ava smiled and continued reading. By the time she finished reading, Maeve had dozed off, her head resting on Ava’s arm, and her breathing was soft and even.

Sara and Ava climbed out of the bed careful not to wake Maeve and tip-toed out of the room closing the door behind them. They walked hand in hand towards the stairs when Sara gently grabbed Ava by the wrists and pushed her up against the wall, standing on her tips toes to bring her lips to her wife’s. Ava leaned forwards slightly, so their bodies were touching as they kissed.

Ava pulled away before anything could happen, biting her lip as she looked at Sara, “Your parents, sister, and eight-year-old daughter are awake and less than fifty feet away.”

“Fine,” Sara responded, kissing Ava on the cheek before taking her hand and leading her down the staircase.

They met up with their family and chatted a bit more before Dinah announced it was getting late and she should head home and bid her goodbyes. Ultimately, Dinah, Quentin, and Laurel got in their cars and Ava opened a portal for them to drive through instead of making them travel the long distance late at night on a holiday.

Sara draped her arm over Eadlyn’s shoulder and look down at her daughter, “You ready for bed, Eady?”

Eadlyn nodded, too tired to argue, and headed up the stairs with Sara and Ava. Eadlyn brushed her teeth and crawled into her bed.

“Can I ask you something, Eady,” Sara asked.

Eadlyn nodded her head, curious as to what Sara wanted to know.

“Did you intentionally let Maeve win?” Sara wondered. She had been wondering all afternoon.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Eadlyn smirked.

“You’re a great kid, you know that?” Ava said hugging Eadlyn.

“You both say that all the time.”

“Just making sure it sinks in,” Sara elaborated.

They left Eadlyn’s room and headed to their own where they both collapsed on the bed, tired from the long day.

“Happy birthday my love,” Ava whispered into Sara’s ear, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Ava rolled over to look into Sara’s eyes and leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips, savoring the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! If I don't post before then I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!  
> So much happens in this chapter, but they go camping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I’ve never actually been camping (I’ve always wanted to though!!) so I’m not completely sure how accurate this portrayal is, but I hope you enjoy it none the less. Also, Ava doesn't really strike me as a swimmer which is why the chapter went the way it did.  
> Edit: I just realized this chapter takes place in February so I apparently elected to ignore the fact that winter and snow exists

Eadlyn- 8

Maeve- 6

Ada- 4

After Christmas came New Years’ and, like they did every year, the family spent the holiday with the Legends on the Waverider. Although Maeve and Ada fell asleep in Sara and Ava’s room on the ship at a normal time, Eadlyn insisted on staying up to watch the ball drop at midnight with the adults. She barely made it and was dead asleep on the galley floor at 12:05 leaving a slightly drunk Sara to carry her to their room.

Valentine’s day came with another Legends babysitting adventure while Sara and Ava went out for dinner at the restaurant where they had their first date, thankfully there were no work interruptions. Though no eyeballs were eaten this time on the Waverider, none of the kids ended up sleeping after each Legend snuck them loads of ice cream and candy that kept them up on a sugar high until the early hours of the morning.

Before they knew it, it was the end of February and the kids were on school vacation, but more importantly, it had been six months since Maeve and Ada came to stay with Sara, Ava, and Eadlyn. After discussing what they wanted to do over the vacation, Sara and Ava decided they would leave the Legends on their own for a week and take a road trip up into the mountains to go camping with the kids. When Sara suggested the idea after remembering one of her favorite family trips as a child, Eadlyn, Maeve, and Ada were ecstatic as none of them had ever been camping before. Ava was a little more difficult to convince, however, after seeing how excited everyone else was, and a little convincing from Sara, she eventually caved.

“Okay,” Ava said, clapping her hands together, “I think we’ve got everything packed.” She was standing next to Sara who was placing the last bag in the trunk of the car.

“Babe, I think you overpacked,” Sara smirked as she tried to close the trunk of the car.

“We have to be prepared, Sara. We are going into the wilderness for five days, you never know what we might need,” Ava emphasized to defend her decision.

“I love you, but you know we could just portal back if we really needed something, right?”

“Oh, I plan on it, I’m not sure I grabbed enough bug spray.”

Sara rolled her eyes before placing a long kiss on her wife’s lips, not hearing any of their kids walk outside. Eadlyn made it to the back of the car first and saw both of her moms’ kissing.

“Eww,” she said, her nose scrunched in disgust.

“What do you mean ‘eww’?” Sara joked as she turned and kissed Eadlyn on the forehead.

“Alright, everyone in,” Sara announced opening the back door so the kids could climb inside, “We’ve got to hit the road.”

“Oh, we should bring-,” Ava started as she took a step towards the house.

“Ava,” Sara cut off her wife and gently grabbing her arm. She placed a kiss to the back of her hand and led her over to the passenger door and opened it for her, “We have everything we need; we’re going to be okay.”

Sara got into the driver’s seat and pulled out of their driveway towards the main road. The peace in the car lasted longer than both Ava and Sara expected, about five minutes. After that, the arguments started.

“But I want a gummy worm,” Ada whined, her eyes glimmering and close to tears as she held her arm out trying to steal the bag from Eadlyn.

“No,” Eadlyn angrily replied as she shifted her body away from Ada, “When mama asked what snacks we wanted for the ride you asked for Doritos.”

Ava turned around to try and contain their fighting before it got out of hand. Maeve was sitting with her head on the window looking out at the scenery. She hadn’t said anything and looked to be admiring the view. Ada on the other hand was clawing at Eadlyn and trying to take the bag of gummy worms while Eadlyn was clearly pissed at her sister.

“Woah, okay,” Ava said, reaching her hands back to block Ada from Eadlyn, “What is going on?”

“Mommy, Eady won’t give me a gummy worm.”

“Ada, when we were at the store the other day, we asked you if you wanted gummy worms as a snack and you decided on Doritos instead,” Ava sighed.

“But I don’t want Doritos anymore,” Ada pouted.

“That’s fine, but Eady doesn’t have to share her snack; that’s what she picked out. Maybe she will trade a Dorito for a gummy worm, but that is up to her,” Ava explained then turned to Eadlyn, “Though, you can’t eat that whole bag in one sitting.”

Eadlyn nodded and grabbed another gummy worm, popping it in her mouth, before handing the bag over to Ava.

“There’s also some fruit in the cooler by your feet if you want that instead,” Sara suggested not looking up from the road. 

“No thank you,” Ada whispered looking down at her hands.

“How about we listen to some music?” Ava suggested.

All three girls nodded, and Ava plugged her phone into the AUX cord and started going through her music. She ultimately decided on playing her Taylor Swift playlist knowing all three girls loved her music and it would hopefully prevent any further disagreements.

They stopped for lunch at a diner they passed along the way before finally arriving at the campground. Sara and Ava stopped their conversation and turned around to tell their daughters, only to find all three of them asleep. Maeve had her head leaning against the window, Ada had her head on Eadlyn’s shoulder and Eadlyn had her head on the other window, and all three were snoring softly.

They smiled at each other and stepped out of the car opening the back door. Sara gently shook Eadlyn who yawned and blinked a few times to gather her surroundings.

“Are we here?” she mumbled rubbing her eyes.

“Yeah,” Sara responded helping her out of the car.

Eadlyn’s movements caused the other two girls to stir and slowly open their eyes. Ava opened the other door and helped Maeve and Ada out of the car. The five of them unpacked the trunk and carried everything to the site.

They set up the two tents first, collected firewood, and organized all their stuff before Sara suggested they go for a hike before dinner.

Sara and Ava held hands as they walked down the trail, the three kids running ahead of them giggling and picking the prettiest wildflowers they could find.

“You were right, this vacation was a good idea,” Ava said, smiling at her wife.

“What was that?” Sara smirked.

“You heard me; I’m not repeating it.”

“You know, I usually have good ideas.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” Ava joked.

“Hey!” Sara exclaimed playfully swatting her arm before pulling her in for a kiss.

They made it back to the campsite, started a fire, and ate dinner. They sat around the flames telling stories until the sun set over the horizon and the only light came from the fire and the moonlit sky.

Ada stood up and walked around the fire over to Sara, plopping down in her lap with the back of her head against Sara’s shoulder.

“Woah,” Ada said looking up at the sky, “Look at the stars!”

Ada, Maeve, and Eadlyn look up with their mouths dropped open in shock mesmerized by the view. Living in Star City, it was almost impossible to have a clear night sky due to the light pollution leaving the three of them to, ironically, never have seen a star-lit sky.

The family sat, looking up at the stars and pointing out different shapes that they created for a while. As time went on, it became harder and harder for Ada to hide her sleepiness. She curled into Sara’s embrace and let out a quiet yawn.

“I think it’s time for bed,” Sara noted.

“No,” Ada whined.

“Yeah, it’s been a long day. I will lay with you until you fall asleep.”

Sara stood and lifted Ada into her arms. She walked over and unzipped the tent that Eadlyn, Maeve, and Ada would be sharing. She gently placed Ada’s head on her pillow and wrapped the blankets around her body.

“You comfy?” Sara asked as she handed Ada her stuffed cat.

“Yep,” Ada cuddled the stuffed animal. She fell asleep quickly after the long day they had, and Sara quietly slipped out of the tent and joined the rest of the family by the fire. 

Eventually, Maeve and Eadlyn joined Ada leaving Sara and Ava by themselves sitting on the logs by the dying fire.

Ava sat with her cheek rested on Sara’s shoulder and Sara’s head rested on hers. Sara wrapped her arm around Ava’s waist and they both sat in silence listening to the crickets chirping in the background.

They eventually made their way to their tent and both got under the blankets. Ava wrapped her arms around her wife, pulling her close, and kissed her on the head before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

A few hours later, Sara and Ava jerked awake at the sound of scratching against their tent.

“Mom? Mama?”

“What’s wrong Eady?” Sara asked rubbing her eyes trying to wake up. She opened the tent and saw her eldest daughter standing outside.

“Ada’s crying.”

“Why?” Ava asked concerned. She slipped on her shoes and joined Eadlyn and Sara outside.

“I don’t know,” Eadlyn shrugged her shoulders.

Ava crawled into the kid’s tent and saw Ada crying quietly while Maeve was hugging her little sister and whispering in her ear, trying to calm her down.

“What happened Ada-bear?” Ava crawled over to sit beside Ada and started to gently rub her back while Maeve continued to hold her.

“I woke up and wanted to find you and mama, but I got scared to go outside.”

“Okay, baby,” Ava sighed continuing to softly rub circles on her back, “Do you want to stay with me a mama?”

Ada nodded and crawled away from Maeve and into Ava’s embrace.

“Are you okay, Maeve?” She asked, gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind her middle daughter’s ear.

Maeve nodded, “Eady’s gonna stay with me, right?”

“Yeah, she is.”

Maeve smiled and laid back down under the covers ready to go back to sleep.

Ava crawled out of the tent, cuddling Ada to her chest. She noticed Sara standing outside with her arm loosely hanging off a yawning Eadlyn’s shoulder.

“Good night Eady,” Sara whispered kissing her on the head.

“Night mama,” Eadlyn climbed back into her tent and zipped it closed.

Ada crawled into the tent and laid down between Sara and Ava, quickly drifting off to sleep while Ava caressed her cheek.

Despite everyone waking up in the middle of the night, they were all up bright and early, ready to begin the day. They ate breakfast together in their pajamas as they decided what to do for the rest of the day.

“Can we go swimming in the lake?” Eadlyn asked excitedly.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Sara agreed.

“But we can’t swim,” Ada responded nervously looking back and forth between Maeve and her mom’s.

“It’s okay, we are going to stay with you the whole time and teach you,” Ava assured her.

They cleaned up their food from breakfast and changed into bathing suits before heading down to the lake.

The lake was glistening in the daylight, and it was warm due to the shining sun and clear sky. Eadlyn took off her shorts and tee-shirt and walked over to the rope swing.

“Can I jump in now?”

Sara nodded and Eadlyn grabbed the rope, swinging off it, flying towards the water. She splashed into the lake and resurfaced giggling.

Sara lifted Ada and carried her towards the water. She walked in and Ada wrapped her arms tightly around Sara’s neck. Ada jerked when her feet first touched the water, but she eventually relaxed and started to enjoy herself.

“You ready?” Ava looked down at Maeve who was nervously holding her hand in a death grip.

Maeve tentatively nodded and took a step towards the water with Ava. Ava took the first step in, her arm behind her still holing onto Maeve who hadn’t stepped forward with her.

Ava turned and gently placed her hands on Maeve’s shoulders, “Hey,” She said softly kneeling down to look her daughter in the eye, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Maeve bit her lip and hesitantly nodded. She stood at the edge of the water and used her other hand to grab onto Ava’s arm, leaning into her. She cautiously dipped her toe in the water as Eadlyn walked out of the lake ready to swing off the rope again.

Maeve and Ava took another step into the lake, the water up to their ankles. She took another step in and another. Her knuckles were white from clenching Ava’s hand as tight as she could. Ava gave her an encouraging smile before each step and soon the water was up to the little girl’s knees.

“I’m proud of you,” Ava smiled standing behind Maeve and bending down to wrap her arms around her waist, “You ready to learn to swim?”

Maeve looked up at Ava still unsure.

“I’m not going to let go of you and I’ll be with you the whole time.”

Maeve nodded and Sara carried Ada over to them so they could learn together. Eadlyn also swam over to help Sara and Ava teach her sisters the basics.

It took some time but by lunchtime, they had started to get the hang of swimming. When Eadlyn announced she was starting to get hungry. They all exited the lake to eat some lunch. Ava handed Eadlyn a towel and walked over to the cooler to grab some food for everyone. Sara helped Maeve and Ada out of the lake and wrapped a large beach towel around both their shoulders as they huddled together in the sun to stay warm. 

“I want to go on the rope swing like Eady,” Ada announced in between bites of her sandwich.

“You’ve got to practice a little more,” Sara explained, “Eady has been swimming for a long time.”

Ada nodded, “Can we go back in after lunch?”

“If that’s what you want,” Sara replied, “What about you two?” She turned to Maeve and Eadlyn who had been quiet.

“I want to go back in,” Eady concluded.

Maeve, however, shook her head, declining the offer.

“What do you want to do?” Ava asked.

“Can we see all the flowers from yesterday?”

“Yeah,” Ava smiled, “How about you and I go for a walk to the flower field and mama can go swimming with Eady and Ada.”

They all agreed, and everyone quickly finished their lunch so they could start their afternoon activities.

After lunch, Ava took Maeve back to the tent and helped her put a yellow floral dress over her now dry bathing suit. They walked back to the lake to see Sara, Eadlyn, and Ada getting ready to head back into the water.

“I have my phone and time courier if you need me,” Ava told her wife as she placed her phone in the back pocket of her jean shorts.

“Be safe,” Sara said, kissing Ava before heading back towards the lake.

Ava watched Eadlyn jump off the rope swing, and Sara headed with Ada towards the water, “You ready?” she asked looking down at Maeve and talking her hand.

Maeve nodded and skipped alongside Ava as they walked down the path towards their destination. It was quiet and peaceful as they walked together through the trees.

When they made it to the field of flowers, Maeve took off giggling and started picking multiple flowers.

“Look at this one, Maeve,” Ava said holding out a pink wildflower.

“It’s pretty.”

Maeve collected a bunch of yellow and pink flowers until her hands were full. She walked back over to Ava who was sitting on the ground with her flowers scattered around her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m making a flower crown. Do you want to make one?”

Maeve smiled and sat beside Ava. Maeve picked the flowers she wanted to use, and Ava wrapped them together until it was big enough to rest on Maeve’s head.

She secured the crown on Maeve’s head and stepped back to see how it looked, “There you go, beautiful. You look like a princess.”

“Really?” Maeve asked skeptically.

Ava was still sitting on the ground as Maeve stood in front of her. She gently placed her hands on Maeve’s shoulders and looked up at her so she would know she was serious, “Really. You are kind and smart and compassionate and I’m happy I get to be your mom.”

Maeve smiled and stood up walking through the field as she collected more flowers. Ava watched Maeve as she meandered through the flowers and noticed her genuine smile filled with pure bliss and happiness, something she had never seen before. She took out her phone, secretly stealing pictures of Maeve to never forget the moment.

Maeve walked back and sat on the ground next to Ava, leaning her head against her arm. She sat in silence playing with the petals on one of the flowers she had picked before looking up nervously at Ava. Ava sat patiently as Maeve built up the courage to speak.

“Can I ask you something?” Maeve whispered.

“You can always ask me anything,” Ava responded shifting so she could see Maeve better.

“Can I call you my mom?”

“I would love that,” Ava smiled trying very hard not to cry but her eyes started to glisten with tears anyway.

“Good, because you’re a good mom,” Maeve grinned.

“I love you, baby. Can I hug you?”

Maeve’s brows creased in thought for a moment too long for Ava’s liking.

“How about we take a selfie of us with our flower crowns instead,” Ava suggested due to her hesitation. She didn’t want her to agree because she felt like she had to.

Maeve nodded and happily smiled into the camera with Ava.

“Alright, we need to start walking so we make it back before dark.”

“Okay,” Maeve responded, “Can I take my flower crown with me?”

“Of course!”

Before Ava could start walking down the path, Maeve quickly wrapped her tiny arms around Ava’s body. Ava lightly draped her arms around Maeve, appreciating the hug. Maeve pulled back and grabbed Ava’s hand to walk back to the campsite.

Before moving, Ava took Maeve’s hands into her own and knelt to her level, “Sweetie, you know you don’t have to hug anyone if you don’t want, right? Even though I asked you don’t have to say yes.”

Maeve nodded, “I know. I don’t like hugs, but you give good hugs.”

“You give good hugs too.”

They headed back down the trail towards the camp and watched the sunset over the trees, Maeve stopping to admire every little creature and rock formation she could find. When they made it back to the lake, Sara, Eadlyn, and Ada were already getting the food out for dinner.

Sara saw her wife and daughter and headed over to them, “You look very pretty in your flower crown, Maeve-y.”

Maeve blushed and looked down, but a smile crept onto her face.

“You look good too Mrs. Lance,” Sara whispered in Ava’s ear before kissing her cheek.

Maeve grabbed Ava’s hand to get her attention and waited for her to look down, “Thank you for taking me, mommy.” She smiled and skipped over to her sisters to join in the game they were playing together.

“Well that’s new,” Sara observed looking up proudly at Ava.

“We had a great time together. She looked genuinely happy the entire time,” Ava recounted. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and started showing all the photos she had taken to Sara, “She even told me I was a good mom.”

“That’s because you are.”

Sara grabbed Ava’s hand and walked over to Eadlyn, Maeve, and Ada, “You ready for dinner?”

They all sat together and chatted about their separate adventures until Ada fell asleep in Sara’s lap. Sara brought her over to the tent and tucked her in, returning to the rest of her family.

Eventually, Maeve started to drift off as well, but she tried her hardest to keep her eye open a little longer. Ultimately, she leaned her head against Ava’s arm unable to sit up on her own anymore.

“Okay, let’s bring you to bed,” Ava said helping Maeve stand, “Do you want to say goodnight?”

“Night, Eady. Night, mama.”

She drowsily walked with Ava over to the tent and laid her head against the pillow, looking up at Ava, “I had a good time with you today.”

“I had a good time with you too. Sweet dreams.”

Maeve grabbed her stuffed bunny and rolled over, falling asleep by the time Ava closed the tent.

The next morning, Eadlyn and Ada insisted on swimming again. After learning the day before, Ada was getting really good and still insisted on being able to do the rope swing by the end of the trip. Maeve on the other hand, though she learned the basics and could stay afloat on her own, did not seem to be keen on the activity. Sara and Ava noticed this and after swimming all morning, convinced Eadlyn and Ada to play a game together as a family in the afternoon at a picnic table.

“Are we going to make smores tonight? We haven’t made any yet,” Eadlyn asked as she placed a pick four-card down in their UNO game, “Green.”

“Hey,” Sara joked sarcastically as she picked four cards out of the deck and placed a green card in the middle of the picnic table, “And I think that’s a great idea.”

“What’s a smore?” Ada asked, placing a green six-card on top of Sara’s.

“You’ve never had a smore?” Eadlyn asked in shock.

“Nope.”

“Well, we are going to have to educate you,” Ava responded placing a blue six-card on top of Ada’s.

“Mom! Stop changing the color! I need it to stay green!” Eadlyn exclaimed.

Maeve giggled at Eadlyn as she placed a yellow six-card on top of Ava’s.

“That wasn’t helpful either,” Eadlyn joked as Maeve continued to giggle.

When the game finally ended, Sara started a campfire while the girls put away all the cards. They sat around the fire while Ava handed out skewers with marshmallows. They made smores and when they finally finished, Sara cleaned the marshmallow off Ada’s hands and face. They sat around the fire together and like the night before, Ada fell asleep in Sara’s lap.

The rest of their trip went smoothly and when the day came for them to leave, they were all disappointed.

“Do we have to leave today?” Eadlyn whined as she threw her dirty clothes in a bag.

“Yes, we are leaving this afternoon because we are having lunch with grandpa tomorrow and then you have school the day after. But we are going swimming one last time because someone,” Sara said smiling at Ada, “wants to do the rope swing.”

“Really!” She exclaimed.

Sara nodded and Ada jumped with excitement. Sara ran with her to the tent so she could help her change into a bathing suit.

They climbed out of the tent and before Ada could run towards the swing, Sara grabbed her shoulders, “You have to wait for me to get in the water before you jump, okay.”

She nodded and ran over to the swing with Eadlyn while Sara walked into the lake. Ava stood with Maeve; her phone ready to take a video.

Eadlyn grabbed the rope and handed it to Ada, holding onto her sister so she would fall in.

When Sara made it out into the water, she gave Ada a thumbs up. Ada looked back at Eadlyn who smiled encouragingly at her, “You have to hold on really tight.”

Ada gripped the rope and lifted her feet off the ground to swing towards the lake. When she got near Sara, she let go of the rope and fell into the water. When Ada resurfaced, she was laughing with joy. Everyone cheered for her and Eadlyn grabbed the rope, swinging in behind her, splashing into the water.

That afternoon they packed everything into the car and Sara and Ava had to all but force Eadlyn, Maeve, and Ada into the car because they did not want to leave. By the time they were halfway home, Ava looked back and smiled at the sight of all three girls fast asleep in the back seat.

Ava reached down and held the hand Sara wasn’t using to drive, “Thank you for convincing me to go on this trip. I had a really fun time.”

“I did too, and they seemed to enjoy themselves,” She said, looking in the rearview mirror at the sleeping kids.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Ava smiled at Sara and leaned her head against the headrest. She closed her eyes and drifted into sleep still holding Sara’s hand.

Sara glanced over at her sleeping wife and then at her sleeping kids and smiled as she continued to drive down the road, thinking how lucky she was to have Ava, Eadlyn, Maeve and Ada as her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not the end!!!!! I am going to continue with some one-shots. I have already started writing some of those chapters so I should be posting fairly soon. Comments are appreciated, I hope you enjoyed this story!!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Comments are always appreciated. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!


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